ASIO boss Mike Burgess warns of rising radicalisation and threats to social cohesion

“Given the degrading state of our security environment and the increasing willingness of regimes to conduct high-damage operations, ASIO assesses that there is a realistic possibility of a foreign government attempting to assassinate a perceived dissident in Australia,” Burgess warned.

“This threat is real. We believe there are at least three countries here willing and able to conduct lethal targeting.”

Burgess did not name the three countries but said it was possible that foreign governments were trying to conceal assassination attempts using “criminal disruptions”, as Iran did in the arson attacks on a Jewish synagogue and a kosher deli in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

“Regimes operate in a security gray zone in Western democracies, using unconventional means to interfere with decision-making processes, promote discord, increase distrust, and spread false narratives,” he said.

“Authoritarian regimes display a chilling willingness to exploit fault lines in countries they view as enemies.”

Burgess said “state-sanctioned trolls”, particularly from Russia, were trying to sow discord in Australia by trying to “hijack and inflame legitimate debate”.

“We recently uncovered links between pro-Russian influencers in Australia and an offshore media outlet that almost certainly received instructions from Russian intelligence,” he said.

Although attempts so far have received limited attention, he said: “I am deeply concerned about the potential for AI to take online radicalization and disinformation to entirely new levels.”

Burgess said the war in Gaza had not directly inspired terrorism in Australia, but had “led to protests, increased tensions, undermined social cohesion and increased intolerance”.

Burgess said that since the attacks on October 7, 2023, the country has seen “a significant increase in deliberately destructive and damaging tactics by anti-Israel activists, including numerous acts of arson, vandalism, and violent protests against defense companies accused of supplying weapons components.”

He mentioned a group that posted a video threatening “consequences” for employees of an unnamed business.

“Every employee in this supply chain is complicit,” the video stated. “We will determine your fate, just as you determine the fate of millions… We are watching you closely. We have your addresses. ‘Stop arming Israel’ [sic] or…”

Meanwhile, neo-Nazis were using anti-immigration rallies to raise their profile and fuel grievances in Australia, he said.

Although the National Socialist Network was not involved in terrorism, Burgess said: “I am deeply concerned by its hateful, divisive rhetoric and increasingly violent propaganda, and the increasing likelihood that these will lead to spontaneous violence, particularly in response to perceived provocation.”

Burgess said he was also concerned about the Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir, which has infiltrated the university camp and pro-Palestinian movements, as this imprint reported last year.

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While Hizb ut Tahrir is listed as a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom, it is not listed in Australia.

Burgess said he feared that the group’s “anti-Israel rhetoric will fuel and normalize broader anti-Semitic narratives,” adding that the group’s “provocative behavior, aggressive rhetoric, and insidious strategy are very similar to the tactics of the National Socialist Network.”

“The organization’s condemnation of Israel and Jews attracts media attention and helps recruit members, but it deliberately avoids encouraging politically motivated acts of violence on the ground,” he said.