Sydney: Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott had announced a national security crackdown that could deny welfare payments to the people seen as potential threats, strips the passport of those with dual nationality and curb travel overseas.
After surviving a leadership challenge this month, Abbott, bruised politically and facing pressure for dramatic action. He had been unveiled the measures in the wake of a hostage siege in a Sydney cafe that left three dead in December.
Abbott also said that some personal freedoms would have to be curtailed to fight a rapidly growing threat from radical groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Abbott said, “For too long, we have given those who might be a threat to our country the benefit of the doubt.”
He also said, “We will never sacrifice our freedoms in order to defend them, but we will not let our enemies exploit our decency either.”
A day after releasing a report on the siege, in which two hostages and a radical self-styled sheikh who had sought to align himself with Islamic State were killed, Abbott said it.
Tony Abbott said new laws would remedy failings on the immigration, welfare, policing and intelligence fronts by clamping down on supporters of radicals, especially welfare recipients.
Greens Party leader Senator Christine Milne said, “It worked for him in opposition, he thinks it’s going to work for him in government. Australians are not going to fall for it.”
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply