Increase in terrorism threat level reflects increased likelihood of an attack in Australia in the next twelve months. What does this mean for New Zealanders?
Australia raises threat level
The warning tool that provides Australia’s government and public with a traffic light indication of what the county’s domestic spy agency, ASIO, is seeing has just been pushed mid-spectrum into the yellow (‘probable’).
According to the advisory, Australia’s security landscape “has entered a vulnerable period and is being challenged by new threats with concerning trajectories.” Social cohesion is lower, and trust in governments and democratic processes globally are eroding.
“ASIO is observing the emergence of domestic actors increasingly driven to action by socio-political issues, intersecting with personal grievances,” it states. “There is an increase in extremism, fuelled by conspiracy theories and anti-authority ideologies,” and social media is amplifying this.
“These trends can easily cross borders and influence similar behaviours and threats here in New Zealand. It’s definitely something we need to stay vigilant about and be proactive in addressing.”
According to ASIO, the rise of individual grievance narratives and the ways in which they are expressed, have limited society’s ability to find common ground. This is resulting in a proliferation of “provocative and inflammatory behaviours contrary to community standards and liberal democratic values.” Global events such as the conflict in the Middle-East, are feeding into this.
Islamic State and its affiliates are also in the frame, having recently demonstrated their capability to conduct large-scale external operations. ASIO says that they would consider Australia a legitimate target.
“The compounding effects of these issues has resulted in a volatile domestic security environment,” states ASIO. “This environment has the potential for an increase in acts of politically motivated violence, including terrorism, to occur across all ideological spectrums.”
What does it mean here in NZ?
According to Chris Proctor, ASIS International New Zealand Chapter Chair and a security Consultant at Beca, the increase in threat level across the ditch is a timely reminder that the security landscape is fluid.
“Security threats never sleep; circumstances are always changing,” said Proctor. “Unless you keep abreast of these changes, your security approach can rapidly become obsolete.”
ASIS International NZ Chair, Chris Proctor.
Andy Gollings, a director of Red Badge Group and security consultant, agrees. “There is no indication yet that NZ will follow however it is a timely reminder for us all to maintain good security hygiene,” he stated.
According to Gollings, this means (i) encourage your team to be aware, be vigilant; (ii) understand what is normal for your environment; (iii) regularly check for changes from normal; and (iv) challenge and investigate that which is out of the ordinary.
“Most importantly train and empower your team to ‘See something – Say Something – Do Something’, ensure they know how to report concerns and what to do in the event of an emergency.
“While the specific threat level in New Zealand hasn’t changed, the rise in politically motivated violence and rapid radicalisation we’re seeing in Australia is a sobering reminder of how volatile security environments can be,” adds Jamie Williams, Security Risk Management Lead at ICARAS Security Consultants.
“These trends can easily cross borders and influence similar behaviours and threats here in New Zealand. It’s definitely something we need to stay vigilant about and be proactive in addressing.”
