Experts Advocate for Community Involvement
Following the release of the Royal Commission’s interim report, experts urge a broader strategic reset that includes community monitoring, not solely police enforcement. This report focuses on the Bondi terrorist attack and its implications.
The Social Cyber Institute welcomes the Commission’s emphasis on firearms regulation, policing, and protecting vulnerable groups. However, they advocate for a comprehensive approach addressing the evolving nature of extremist violence, hate speech, and disinformation in Australia.
Dr. Levi West from the Australian National University highlights that Australia’s counter-terrorism strategy, influenced by early-2000s paradigms, may need realignment to address today’s fragmented threat landscape of mixed ideologies and online-Nihilistic ecosystems.
A summary of a workshop held on February 26 at UNSW Canberra indicates that governments cannot address today’s complex threat environments by relying solely on security agencies or legislation. Therefore, a broader strategy involving communities is essential.
Involving Communities in the Strategy
Professor Glenn Withers AO, co-founder of the Social Cyber Institute, stated, “Australia needs effective policing and legal tools, but also a prevention architecture that reflects how violent mobilisation occurs through online networks.”
The Institute proposes that the post-Bondi policy should engage communities, educational institutions, civil society, and technology companies, in addition to police and security agencies. This approach targets issues such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and disinformation.
Professor Greg Austin, another co-founder of the Institute, noted, “The Royal Commission has a rare opportunity to move beyond reactive law-making and ask a deeper question: is Australia’s counter-terrorism and social cohesion framework fit for the threat environment of the late 2020s?” He urged the Commission to treat antisemitism as a significant harm and part of a larger democratic resilience crisis.
The Institute’s report suggests that addressing the complex threat environment involves collaboration with communities, schools, universities, platforms, civil society organisations, religious leaders, researchers, and technology companies.
