Australia signals border crackdown after terror scare

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sunday signalled a crackdown on border controls to combat terror threats in the wake of several incidents, warning that Australia will not let “bad people play us for mugs”. Police last week said they had thwarted an alleged imminent attack after they arrested two men, both of whom had arrived in Australia in recent years, during a raid in Sydney. Omar Al-Kutobi, originally from Iraq, and Mohammad Kiad, a Kuwaiti, were charged with making preparations for a terrorist act after an Islamic State group flag, weapons and a video were seized in the raid. Investigators on Friday said police and a prayer hall were among potential targets.

It’s clear to me, that for too long, we have given those who might be a threat to our country the benefit of the doubt.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

It has also emerged that Iranian-born self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis, who held a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe in December, was granted a visa in 1996 despite Tehran’s warnings about his criminal past. Monis was on bail at the time of the Sydney incident for a string of charges, including sexual offences and abetting the murder of his ex-wife. Abbott did not detail what changes were planned, but said he would deliver a national security statement a week on Monday. Australia in September raised its terror threat level and carried out extensive raids in Sydney and Brisbane to disrupt an alleged plot by IS supporters to abduct and behead a random member of the public.

We are a free and fair nation. But that doesn’t mean we should let bad people play us for mugs, and all too often they have. Well, that’s going to stop.

Omar Al-Kutobi, originally from Iraq, and Mohammad Kiad

Asia-Pacific