APEC Australia Security Conference
Director-General's Address
‘Intelligence and the APEC 2007 Threat Environment'
11 December 2006
Introduction
Thank you Alan Henderson, Head of the APEC 2007 Taskforce.
Good morning ladies and gentleman. For those who have come from overseas, welcome to Australia.
It is a pleasure to be here today at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre to address the APEC Australia Security Conference. I will be pleased to take questions at the end.
This conference will give you the opportunity to see for yourselves the state of preparations for this important international event.
It is most important that the theme of this conference is ‘Staying ahead of the current threat environment through a coordinated, whole of government approach'. I intend, in this address, to provide the ASIO perspective.
Intelligence is the essential starting point for effective security management of any major event. National security intelligence provides the framework within which a cost effective risk management approach to security can be developed.
Security intelligence can forewarn of likely threats to events, participants or visitors and provide advice on the nature of the threats and their potential harm.
It can indicate those areas that need special security attention.
It is used in the accreditation process to ensure that persons with access to sensitive areas do not pose a security risk.
It identifies people whose entry into the country at the time of a major event could be a concern.
Security intelligence is also used to provide protective security advice for venues and facilities.
I have titled this presentation - ‘Intelligence and the APEC 2007 Threat Environment' - to set the tone for the comments I want to make about how ASIO contributes to a coordinated, strategic approach to security arrangements.
Before doing so, I believe it would be helpful if I briefly provided some background on ASIO.
ASIO
By way of introduction for our delegates from non-security related fields, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service.
It was established in 1949 and operates under legislation.
The ASIO Act 1979 provides that the Organisation obtain, correlate and evaluate intelligence relevant to security, including espionage and foreign interference, politically motivated violence, communal violence, sabotage and attacks on Australia's defence system.
It is important to note that ASIO is essentially an advisory body providing assessed intelligence to government and the law enforcement community.
ASIO's role is to advise government on security threats to Australians and Australian interests in Australia and abroad.
ASIO also has a responsibility to protect foreign interests in Australia, such as diplomatic and consular missions. For example, one of the National Threat Assessment Centre's (NTAC) core responsibilities includes the provision of threat assessments for foreign dignitaries visiting Australia.
The ASIO Act does not require the Organisation to carry out or enforce measures for security – in other words the Organisation does not have executive powers.
However, ASIO works closely with law enforcement and related agencies to provide intelligence and advice that helps to inform their own risk management judgements and resource deployment decisions.
ASIO also works very closely with Australia's border control authorities and with many security intelligence agencies around the world.
ASIO and Major Events
I am pleased to say that security preparations and measures for APEC 2007 are developing well.
The hosting of APEC 2007 by Australia is of national significance for this country so planning for it has been integrated and coordinated between agencies within a whole of government framework.
The planning and implementation of security for major events are by their very nature complex and resource intensive.
They involve a number of agencies with different responsibilities.
They involve putting in place measures that are relevant and appropriate for the circumstances that exist in the specific context and environment.
This will be different for each country or location so a model that is necessary and appropriate in one place may not translate easily to a different environment.
Australian authorities have had extensive experience in planning and safely conducting high profile national and international events, including with complex security dimensions.
In the last few years Australia has successfully hosted a range of events, including:
the 2000 Sydney Olympics;
the 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting;
the 2003 Rugby World Cup;
the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games; and
the recent 2006 G20 Finance Ministers Meeting.
Each of these events was quite different and presented its own security challenges.
Given that they were all ‘international' events with participants from around the world, one of the core elements of our planning and implementation of security arrangements for them was our close and cooperative relationships with a range of overseas agencies.
That cooperation has taken a number of forms.
We have drawn lessons from the experience and expertise of others and have applied that to our Australian context and situation;
Where it is relevant and appropriate, we have exchanged intelligence that helps to inform our assessments and risk management;
We have implemented policies and procedures as well as arrangements ‘on the ground' that have given us the best possible chance of achieving a safe and successful event for all concerned.
Clearly, conducting large-scale, multi-faceted international events – whether they are sporting events, social and cultural events or those involving world leaders such as APEC – requires wide-ranging cooperation at all levels.
Specifically, ASIO's role in the context of APEC 2007 is to provide high quality, timely security intelligence to the Australian agencies charged with implementing the security arrangements. This includes:
Providing advice to the State and Territory police services with responsibility for the security of the delegates, the venues, related events and movements around the various cities.
It also includes providing advice in connection with border security; and
It includes exchanging intelligence and providing advice to our international partners in connection with the event to help inform their own threat assessment and risk management processes in connection with their leaders and officials.
This is not unfamiliar ground for ASIO.
Certainly, APEC 2007 will be one of the most significant international meetings ever hosted by Australia.
That is why ASIO has been providing security intelligence advice to inform APEC preparations since 2005;
We remain focussed on servicing the specific needs of all the stakeholders and committed to meeting our responsibilities;
We have well-established processes that will allow us to continue to provide essential security intelligence as the event draws closer.
I will now move onto make a few general comments about the security environment and then offer some insights into how ASIO contributes to a coordinated, whole of government strategy directed at ensuring the safe conduct of APEC.
Security Environment
The combination of geography, political and social stability, and the high level of inter-connectedness of Australian agencies with law enforcement and security responsibilities means that our measures directed at preventing harm are generally quite effective.
Nonetheless, the security environment in Australia remains complex and demanding across a number of threats and, while we can be confident in our abilities and effectiveness, we cannot guarantee that we will always be in a position to prevent harm.
Neither can we afford to be complacent.
In recent years international meetings have been the focus of a variety of groups protesting – often violently – under the banner of anti-globalisation and a range of other issues.
Political protests have a place in a robust democracy such as Australia.
But they are only lawful if they are peaceful.
There are individuals in Australia, and some who have sought to come here from overseas, who are not prepared to limit their protest activities to those that are lawful and peaceful.
These individuals and groups actually plan for violent protest and seek to develop tactics that will bring them into conflict with police and other authorities.
They also seek to involve others in their activities with a view to causing widespread disruption and havoc to events or individuals whose views they oppose.
Certainly, in the context of the APEC meetings and events we can expect to see large-scale protests on a range of issues including anti-globalisation, the environment and climate change, the Iraq War and any number of other matters.
Various issue motivated groups have declared publicly their intention to mount such protests.
I am pleased to say that the vast majority of those protesting will do so peacefully.
That is their right and ASIO has no interest or indeed any authority to limit the right of people to engage in lawful advocacy, protest or dissent under the legislation that governs ASIO's actions.
However, based on past experience in Australia and elsewhere we can expect to see the use of provocative tactics and incidental acts of violence by some elements.
ASIO has long worked closely with the State and Territory police to manage the threat of violent protest actions.
This will continue and be a particular focus for us in the lead-up to and during APEC.
Many of you may have seen television news footage of violent protest in connection with the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting in Melbourne.
Such incidents always make for sensational television footage which can at times distort the magnitude of the incident.
Let me offer my observations of what happened in the G20 protests and what that may indicate for APEC:
The overall protests involved a thousand people who marched with banners and shouted slogans but who behaved in a lawful way in exercising their democratic right to protest in this way in Australia.
There were up to 70 individuals who sought to use the cover of this lawful protest activity to engage in acts of violence and confrontation with the authorities, as they have done previously.
As they are identified they will charged with a range of criminal offences and will be dealt with through the legal system.
While these violent activists and others will inevitably seek to draw lessons from their activities at G20, so also will the relevant authorities who will be prepared for future protest action, particularly at APEC.
While the threat of protest action in connection with APEC is certain – and we are planning for it and will manage it appropriately – there is also an overarching and persistent threat of terrorism which inevitably has an impact on the conduct of events such as APEC, either in general or directed at some of the individual leaders.
It is public knowledge that since the September 2001 attacks in the United States the level of counter-terrorism alert in Australia has been set at medium, which means that a terrorist attack in Australia is feasible and could well occur – not just directed against Australians.
Australia has been identified as a terrorist target in public statements by terrorist leaders and through terrorist planning.
Many in this room today would be aware that there has been at least one aborted, disrupted or actual terrorist attack against Australian interests every year since 2000.
Continuing statements by al-Qa'ida leaders and other Islamic extremists also resonate with individuals not otherwise associated with terrorist groups, who might be inspired to act.
This has been the situation we have been facing in Australia for several years now and one which has shaped the various prevention and preparedness capabilities that have been put in place.
In the case of ASIO, our focus in connection with terrorism has been directed at detecting and disrupting
at an early stage
the activities of individuals and groups who are intent on doing harm in Australia, either to our own citizens or to the citizens and interests of our international friends and allies.
In recognition of the changing nature of the threat and the importance of ASIO - along with other agencies - of being able to counter that threat, the Australian Government has committed additional resources to ASIO over the next five years.
Significant growth has been occurring over the last two years and will continue for some time to come.
As ASIO approaches the challenge of contributing to a secure APEC it does so as a much larger organisation than was in place at the time of the Sydney Olympics; larger than during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games or any of the other events I mentioned earlier.
We have been fortunate that there have been no recent terrorist attacks in Australia and we are taking all reasonable and sensible measures that we can with a view to having this situation continue.
That includes thorough and wide-ranging preparation within ASIO for the specific requirements of APEC;
Extensive and robust cooperation with other Australian agencies; and
Close engagement with our international partners, also directed at achieving a common purpose.
While the security environment remains dynamic and complex and we must be prepared for the unexpected, there are a range of potential manifestations of the threat, for which prudent preparations are underway, including in connection with:
politically motivated violence in the form of protest violence or terrorism;
violence between elements of various communities, generally in response to conflicts in their ancestral countries;
hoaxes against a range of targets including visitors, venues, and transport modes;
chemical, biological and radiological attacks; or
maverick acts on the part of individuals or small groups without any previous record of taking action or coming to notice in a security sense.
Where we have specific and credible information about any of these threats or hoaxes or any other source of security concern, we will communicate that information through the appropriate channels in a timely and appropriate manner.
The specific threat to the interests of the different economies, leaders and other delegates at APEC will vary, as it will depending on the particular location, circumstances or event.
ASIO's assessments will of course take all these variables into consideration and we will issue tailored advice accordingly.
This will help inform the resource deployment and risk judgements and decisions of law enforcement and other agencies in managing the safety and security of all aspects of APEC.
Another aspect of ASIO's role in the protecting the venues and personnel involved in APEC will be through accreditation checking.
ASIO has undertaken a range of counter-terrorism accreditation checking for previous large scale events including the Sydney 2000 Olympics which involved over 94 000 checks and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games involving some 56 000 checks.
We expect to complete over 30 000 accreditation checks for APEC - ASIO has robust systems in place so that it can complete this checking quickly.
Together with police checks, the accreditation process provides a level of confidence that anyone with access to sensitive areas has not previously come to the attention of ASIO or has a criminal conviction.
ASIO is also providing protective security advice for venues and facilities to Commonwealth, State and Territorial and agencies for APEC 2007 on request.
Let me conclude with the following comments:
Responding to the threat of terrorism or other forms of violence is not something that any one agency can do in isolation. The response must involve co-operation across all levels of government, between various government agencies and with international friends and allies.
In recognition of this requirement, the Government has committed additional resources to ASIO and other agencies with a role countering the threat of terrorism and protecting Australia and its interests. In ASIO's case, this has allowed a strengthening of capabilities across a range of core security and intelligence processes, many of which will be utilised in the context of APEC.
Preparations for the security of APEC are wide-ranging and based on sound assessments of the threats we face in Australia with appropriate responses that are both lawful and effective.
This effectiveness is further enhanced by the sound and productive relationships that exist between ASIO and all the relevant State and Territory authorities across Australia.
Since 1989 APEC has grown to become one of the world's most important regional groupings.
APEC 2007 will be one of the most important meetings of world leaders next year and one of the most significant international meetings ever hosted by Australia.
ASIO is committed to supporting security preparations and arrangements for APEC 2007 that will ensure this is one of the safest APEC meetings ever held.
Over the course of the next three days you will see the state of our APEC preparations first hand.
I am sure that I speak for all Australian authorities when I say that we all want APEC to be incident free and for it to deliver real outcomes.
Thank you.