Australia ramps up anti-terror legislation

Australia is preparing to expand its arsenal of laws against terrorism with new legislation targeting radicals inciting followers to violence.

The proposed new powers - aimed at heading off home-grown terrorism - will be joined by new efforts to attack extremism at its roots.

They will place greater emphasis and responsibility on religious groups and communities to identify people at risk of falling under the influence of violent extremists.

New legislation will also be joined by a "lexicon of terrorism" now being drawn up to deter the use of words potentially glorifying terrorism, or suggesting a clash between cultures or religions.

The use of the term "war on terrorism" is already in the lexicon's sights.

"We need to adopt language that depicts acts of politically motivated violence as base criminal conduct of the most reprehensible kind," federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said.

"We must also be conscious of not alienating broad ethnic and religious groups by labelling them in a way that causes prejudice or leads to misunderstanding."

The proposals, to be released within weeks for discussion, follow growing concern at the influence of radical Islamic clerics among young Muslims, the prosecution of terror cells in Sydney and Melbourne, and last week's Jakarta bombings.

They also follow the introduction of some of the West's toughest anti-terror laws since the September 9, 2001, attacks on the United States, giving sweeping powers to counter-terror and law agencies.

The proposals were outlined by McClelland in a speech to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, in which he said Australia continued to be threatened by attack from foreign or home-grown terrorists.

He said successful prosecutions in Melbourne and Sydney clearly showed that, while a small minority, violent extremists were active within Australia. Countering them was one of the Government's top priorities, using security agencies and broader strategies to enhance social cohesion and resilience, and lessen the appeal of radical ideology.

Federal, state and territory agencies were now working on a national approach tailored to local communities in a bid to name and disrupt violent extremists and to identify people at risk of falling under their thrall.

Federal and state police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation were already working with influential community and religious leaders, and community organisations.

McClelland said this would be boosted by the release for consultation and discussion of a significant package of reforms to security and counter-terrorism laws.

These would include a new offence of inciting violence against an individual on the basis of race, religion or nationality, bolstering the existing crime of inciting violence against a group.

"Notably, this would expand the opportunity for prosecuting those who attempt to induce others, including vulnerable youths, to commit acts of politically motivated violence," McClelland said.

He said the support of families, communities and moderate religious leaders was crucial, as in many cases community members were often more able to recognise extremist behaviour and could be more effective in combating those views before they took hold.

"I see centres for Islamic studies at tertiary institutions as having a particular responsibility in this area," McClelland said.