2021-03-18
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for Anti-Racism, has criticised ASIO’s shift away from naming the threat of right-wing extremism, as announced in its 2021 Annual Threat Assessment.
Senator Faruqi said:
“To counter the far-right, we have to name the far-right.
“The people who benefit most from a failure to name far-right extremists are far-right extremists themselves.
“ASIO backing away from calling a spade a spade will harm our efforts to confront the existential threat of far-right violence.
“Make no mistake. This shift has occurred following complaints to ASIO by right-wing Government MPs.
“There is no ideological equivalence here. ASIO itself has said, just weeks ago, that right wing extremism is on the rise while left wing extremism is “not currently prominent”.
“ASIO were happy to label extremists ‘Islamic’ when it suited the Liberals’ desire to demonise a whole community, but now the group in question is predominantly young white men, it's suddenly out of the question.”