LABOR’S NATIONAL SECURITY FAILURES ARE PUTTING AUSTRALIANS AT RISK
MEDIA STATEMENT
26 May 2026
The evidence emerging from the Bondi Royal Commission should alarm every Australian.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has now confirmed that Australia’s terror threat level sits at the “upper end” of probable, that the environment is “a lot hotter” than in previous years, and that there is now “more permission for violence” in our society.
He also confirmed that ASIO’s counter-terror teams were stretched, even as threats escalated following October 7, 2023, and that the Iranian regime is suspected of being linked to more attacks against Australia’s Jewish community than has publicly been confirmed.
This is deeply concerning.
For years, I have warned that Australia’s national security environment has fundamentally changed. We are living in the most dangerous strategic circumstances since the Second World War. The threats we face today are no longer distant or theoretical. They are here. On our streets. In our communities. Against Australians.
The Bondi massacre was a horrific reminder that radicalisation, violent extremism, antisemitism and lone wolf terrorism are not overseas problems anymore.
“The Royal Commission has now heard that multiple warnings existed around threats to religious gatherings and crowded public events, including concerns raised before the Chanukah by the Sea attack. Yet despite this, no dedicated counter-terror threat assessment was prepared for the event and no static police presence was deployed.”
Australians have every right to ask how this was allowed to happen.
Labor has failed to treat national security with the seriousness it demands. While the strategic environment deteriorates, Labor has cut defence spending, weakened Australia’s energy and fuel security, and allowed chaos and division to grow unchecked at home.
At the same time, the Government continues to operate without a comprehensive National Security Strategy. That is simply unacceptable.
For years, I have continued the work and warnings of the late Senator Jim Molan AO DSC, who understood better than most that Australia needed to think strategically, strengthen our resilience, and prepare for the threats of the modern world before crisis strikes.
That is exactly why I strongly welcomed Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s commitment in the Coalition’s Budget-in-Reply to implement a comprehensive National Security Strategy and appoint a dedicated National Security Adviser if elected.
Australia cannot continue drifting from crisis to crisis without a clear national plan.
We need a whole-of-nation strategy that properly addresses terrorism, antisemitism, foreign interference, cyber threats, energy security, fuel security, border protection, mobilisation and defence preparedness.
We also need to ensure our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have the resources, legislative backing and operational support they need to respond to a rapidly deteriorating threat environment.
More than 103,000 Australians have died in service of our nation under the Australian flag. Parliament has a solemn duty to take national security seriously and ensure Australia is prepared to defend its people, values and way of life.
The Coalition understands that duty.
Labor does not.
