Summing Up Speech – Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025

Ms ROWLAND (Greenway—Attorney-General) (17:35): I thank my parliamentary colleagues for their contributions to the debate on this bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Bill 2025. I'm particularly pleased to be present for the member for Riverina's fine speech because I always learn something from him. I want to particularly acknowledge the service of his son as a police officer. He and Catherine should be so proud of his service to the people of New South Wales, and I thank you and your family on behalf of the parliament.
Keeping our communities safe from those who seek to do us harm is the top priority for the Albanese government. 

The government condemns in the strongest possible terms foreign states who seek to harm and terrify Australians. These actors seek to sow discord and division in our community, and they will not be allowed to succeed. The bill amends the Criminal Code to introduce a framework to list foreign state entities as state sponsors of terrorism and respond to state terrorist acts. The bill will also provide a comprehensive suite of criminal offences, addressing state sponsors of terrorism and the acts they seek to foster on our shores. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies will be provided the same powers to investigate and disrupt these threats as they have for non-state terrorist acts.

I also acknowledge the work of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security for its scrutiny of this legislation, with particular thanks to the chair, Senator Ciccone. The PJCIS report makes two recommendations. The first recommendation is that the parliament amend the bill to ensure that the PJCIS has ongoing oversight of any new powers or functions conferred on the Australian Federal Police as a result of the proposed part 5.3A, consistent with the committee's oversight of the existing part 5.3. The government supports this recommendation in principle. We share the view put by the Attorney-General's Department in evidence during the public hearing and on notice that nothing in the proposed part 5.3A confers any new powers or functions on the AFP.

Part 5.3A only creates new offence, not new functions, with the investigative functions of the AFP instead drawn from the Australian Federal Police Act 1979. However, schedule 2 of this bill does make amendments to the existing part 5.3 to ensure that powers exercised by the AFP with respect to terrorist organisation offences—that is, the various order frameworks in divisions 104, 105 and 105A—can also be exercised for state sponsors of terrorism. Therefore, the government maintains the current section 29(1)(baa) of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 would provide the committee the function to monitor and to review the performance of the functions of the AFP under part 5.3—whether engaged in by a state or non-state entity.

Finally, the government supports recommendation 2 and encourages the parliament to unanimously support passage of this bill. This bill sends the strongest possible signal that Australia condemns the actions of foreign states who seek to harm Australians. Any attack targeting Australia will not be tolerated. We must stand in unity against attempts to divide our society. In supporting this bill, this place would be displaying a strong bipartisan resolve in defence of our sovereignty and collective way of life. I thank the chamber.