Malcolm Turnbull has said he is continuing to monitor the national security environment at home in the wake of the Paris atrocities, and warned that terror attacks are likely.
Turnbull said the terrorism threat level in Australia remained at high, which meant an attack was likely. “We recognise risks exist, attacks are possible,” Turnbull told reporters at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. “Attacks in this environment are likely to happen in the future.”
The prime minister said he had spoken overnight to the chiefs of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) and the Australian federal police (AFP), as well as the national security committee of cabinet, before his departure from Antalya on Monday.
He said Australians could be assured the country had the best security agencies, which were doing their best to protect people both at home and abroad.
Turnbull said the G20 leaders were “utterly united” in their commitment to defeat terrorism and he had participated in a working dinner on Sunday night that was focused on strategies to combat violent extremism.
He gave a brief account of the discussion: “There were very strong statements [at the dinner] especially from the leaders of the big Muslim countries in the room – Indonesia of course the largest, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia – repeating what they’ve been saying since the attacks in Paris but also for a very long time, [that] claims by these terrorist groups, by Daesh or IS [Islamic State], to be speaking in the name of God, to be speaking in the name of Islam, are absolutely blasphemous,” Turnbull said.
“These Islamic [extremists], they do not speak in the name of Islam. They defame Islam. They are an abomination and [the political leaders of Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia] reject them utterly – and the leadership they are showing is very important and is appreciated by everybody.”
Turnbull said he had a good discussion during his final bilateral meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, “about the China-Australia free trade agreement and other important China-Australia relations issues.” Beyond that, he did not elaborate on the intricacies of the private discussion.
Turnbull has met the Indonesian president, the German chancellor, the EU leadership, the Japanese prime minister, the Indian prime minister and the prime minister of Singapore over the past three days.
He is now en route to the Apec summit in Manila, where he will meet the US president, Barack Obama, shortly after his arrival.
After Apec Turnbull will travel on to the East Asian summit in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Australia on 23 November.
