Business Council of Australia
Director-General's Address
'National Security and Business'
30 August 2006
Thank you Mr Chairman.
It is a pleasure for me to be able to address the Business Council tonight.
It provides another valuable opportunity for ASIO to engage with the private sector on the issue of national security.
With much of Australia's critical infrastructure in the hands of the private sector, there is a clear intersection of interests and it is sensible that we engage in a dialogue to share information in the national interest.
The serious consequences of damage to critical infrastructure such as key pipelines, refineries, the electricity grid, water supplies and transport systems, are self evident.
You may recall that in September 1998, an explosion at a gas processing plant in Longford, Victoria killed two workers and disrupted gas supplies in Victoria for over two weeks.
The gas outage was devastating to Victorian businesses, with some estimating the loss to industry caused by the explosion as 1.3 billion dollars.
Businesses have long planned for risks such as natural disasters, criminal damage, operational malfunctions or industrial accidents.
And they have generally been very adept at instituting awareness, prevention, response and recovery procedures into their activities, to address these risks.
However, businesses (and government agencies) increasingly need to factor in the possibility of their business or assets being the target of, or affected by, a terrorist attack that is intended to have large scale and lasting disruptive effects.
It is in this context that I would like to address three main issues:
The nature of the terrorist threat to Australia and its interests;
What this means for business; and
ASIO's engagement with business.
Let me start with some general comments about the current security environment, both here and abroad, and how this relates to business.
Security Environment
Since the September 11 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 occur.
In a number of places around the world, terrorist attacks resulting in the death or injury of Australians have occurred, and more are likely.
Australia has been identified as a terrorist target in public statements by terrorist spokesmen and through terrorist planning.
It is a matter of public record 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.
As a result, the terrorist threat to Australia will be an enduring one.
Even without actual attacks, as the events in London in early August 2006 showed, the persistence and pervasiveness of the terrorist threat affects the way in which ordinary people around the world go about their daily business.
The arrest in the UK on 9/10 August of more than 20 people who were suspected of planning what would have been catastrophic terrorist attacks on US-bound airliners departing the UK, represents another alarming development.
It has particular implications for preventative security measures that need to be in place to ensure the safety of the travelling public.
Which will, in turn, make international air travel a more time consuming and difficult activity for all travellers.
It is important to remember that it is not just Western countries and their citizens who are at threat from terrorism.
On 11 July 2006, almost two hundred people were killed, and several hundred more injured, in the train bombings in Mumbai, India.
In South East Asia, Jemaah Islamiyah continues to represent a threat, notwithstanding the success of the counter-terrorism efforts of the regional authorities and the death of bomb-maker Dr Azahari bin Husin.
Twenty people, including four Australians, were killed in the October 2005 bombings in Bali.
Further attacks against Australians and Australian interests in Indonesia are likely, as key Jemaah Islamiyah identities, including Noordin Mohd Top, remain at large.
Business Implications
It is clear that the threat of terrorism is a continuing reality that must be factored into how we do business, in the broadest sense of the word.
One of the key challenges for all of us, is how to counter these threats effectively, in an environment of global commercial competition where cost-efficiency is a major determinant of business success.
Protective security measures can be expensive and business costs that have unmeasurable returns may raise questions of effectiveness.
In the absence of a specific attack where there is a clearly demonstrated link between the protective measures in place and the prevention or minimisation of harm, questions will inevitably arise about whether the measures are actually required.
For example, if you install a protective perimeter around a building and nothing occurs, you can never be sure if it was the protective perimeter that prevented an attack or whether there was a miscalculation of the threat.
I have said previously that responding to the threat of terrorism 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 our international friends and allies.
In recognition of this requirement, the Government has committed additional resources to ASIO and other agencies with a role in 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 functions, and has allowed ASIO to extend its engagement with the private sector.
ASIO's Partnership with Business
I see this expansion of ASIO's relationship with the private sector as yielding mutual benefits for both businesses and ASIO.
While business will benefit from the closer ties and regular contact with ASIO, it will also provide ASIO with enhanced access to valuable information in the private sector that is relevant to our functions.
I would like to emphasise that ASIO has, for many years, had a co-operative and productive relationship with a wide cross-section of the Australian business community.
While the vast majority of business customers are law abiding people, it is likely that those intent on doing harm to Australia are also business customers.
Information that businesses legally provide to ASIO on these individuals can, once properly assessed, contribute to the prevention of a terrorist act.
In the past, businesses have always responded positively and responsibly when ASIO has sought assistance to progress our investigations.
And this assistance has in turn, made a significant contribution to the security of our country.
We are now working to expand our existing relationship with business by assisting private sector decision makers to better understand and respond to security threats in an effective way.
ASIO's role with respect to business is to provide timely information so that appropriate action can be taken by government, law enforcement agencies and owners and operators within Australia's private sector, to protect those components of our national infrastructure which have been identified as critical.
Central to this role is ASIO's contribution to developing and maintaining an understanding of the threat, which, in turn, contributes to informed risk management and continuity planning within key elements of the private sector.
Within ASIO, there are two work areas focused on assisting these outcomes - the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit and the Business Liaison Unit.
The Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit has a defined role within National Counter-Terrorism arrangements. This team is responsible for:
Co-ordinating the listing of Australia's nationally critical assets;
Publishing threat assessments for those assets within the listing that are considered 'vital'; and
Producing threat assessments for industry sectors, information from which is subsequently disseminated to a range of stakeholders, including in the private sector.
These sectoral threat assessments address:
Previous security incidents involving the sector;
Potential motives and capabilities of terrorist groups to do harm to people and assets in the sector; and
Inherent vulnerabilities of the businesses operating in the sector.
In formulating these threat assessments, the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit works with relevant private sector organisations to gain a detailed understanding of their business context and operating procedures.
Such engagement forms an important part of the analytical process and contributes to more comprehensive and useful threat advice that is tailored to each sector.
It should also be noted that in many instances, these assessments drive policy decisions and security investments in both the public and private sector - so we need to get it right.
To bolster these counter-terrorism arrangements, the Federal Government also asked ASIO to implement a means to provide regular and direct liaison with the private sector.
In response, the Business Liaison Unit was established in late 2005 to provide an interface between business and the Australian Intelligence Community.
The Business Liaison Unit is designed to be a resource for business security personnel. Its activities will evolve over time, particularly via feedback and suggestions from our business clients.
At present, the primary functions of the Business Liaison Unit include:
Producing Business Security Reports that are based on sector-specific information sourced both in Australia and overseas. The reports will be regularly updated to reflect the current security environment;
Distributing other reporting that has a national security focus, including information about upcoming events that are relevant to the private sector, such as APEC 2007;
Operating a secure website containing this reporting, for the use of private sector security personnel;
Providing a point of contact for business representatives to ask questions and access other services offered by the Australian Intelligence Community.
Such services might include advice on protective security and information security; and
Arranging specialist presentations and briefings, to build awareness throughout the business community on national security matters.
Concluding Remarks
In conclusion, let me emphasise a few points that I believe are important to members of this forum and more broadly.
Australia and Australians will continue to be the target of terrorist attacks. As such:
Countering the threat of terrorism needs to be a collective effort involving all parts of the Australian community, including the business sector;
We need to be responsive to new developments in the security environment and to regularly re-evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of our policies and practices directed at protecting our people and assets; and
We need to guard against complacency.
ASIO will continue to engage with the business community to help achieve these ends.
Thank you.