Abstract
This comment questions the assertion made by the Australian government’s 2010 White Paper on Counter-Terrorism that the terrorist threat has become a “persistent and permanent feature of Australia’s security environment” and that an attack “could occur at any time.” It demonstrates that in fact the chances of getting killed in a terrorist attack in Australia are close to zero. As a consequence the comment argues that a comprehensive and facts-based review and reform of Australia’s approach to counter-terrorism is urgently needed. Any such process needs to be based on the realisation that the risk of terrorism in Australia is insignificant.
Disciplines
Law
Date of this Version
September 2010
Recommended Citation
Christopher Michaelsen, "Terrorism in Australia: An Inflated Threat" (September 2010). University of New South Wales Faculty of Law Research Series 2010. Working Paper 38.
http://law.bepress.com/unswwps-flrps10/art38
Comments
This article was published in the Security Challenges, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Winter 2010), pp. 19-25. This paper may also be referenced as [2010] UNSWLRS 38.