The head of Australia's domestic spy agency says the threat of a terrorist attack by nationalist extremists or conspiracy theorists has receded since governments abandoned lockdowns and other strict COVID-19 control measures.
Last year the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) dropped the terrorism threat level from "probable" to "possible", with the agency instead ploughing additional resources into growing threats posed by espionage and foreign interference.
The head of ASIO, Mike Burgess, told a Senate estimates hearing this morning that some of the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic — which in turn fuelled anti-government conspiracy theories against lockdowns and vaccination campaigns — had eased over time.
"The volatility has reduced somewhat, in particular around the COVID [measures], so there's less angst these days. We're not subject to mandates," he said.
"Some of that feeling does live on, but the number of cases we've been looking at, they've reduced significantly."
Mr Burgess previously created headlines when he sounded the alarm over the growing terrorist threat posed by far-right racist and nationalist groups.
He also warned those extremist groups were trying to swell their ranks by recruiting people potentially radicalised by COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
Today he told senators that at its peak, right-wing extremism accounted for about half of ASIO's counter-terrorism workload — but that figure had now dropped considerably.
"It did get to 50/50 … but has actually since moderated, so now we're in the territory of 70/30," he said.
"So 70 per cent [are] religiously motivated, and 30 per cent [are] ideologically motivated.
"Most of that is nationalist and racist, violent extremism."
He said ASIO was not "all seeing and all knowing" but the agency did not believe extremist groups had much success recruiting people who had been radicalised during the pandemic.
"They do manage to recruit some people. Would I say it has been a bumper campaign for them? Probably not," he said.
"[But] they continue to focus on how they will attract people to their cause."
He also warned that while the threat of a terrorist attack was lower, it was still real.
"The most likely threat will come from an individual who goes to violence with little or no warning and they're acting on their own because something has set them off … including maybe the group they're in is not satisfying their need," he said.
In December, two police officers and another person were killed in an ambush in Wieambilla, Queensland, by people who were known conspiracy theorists.
Mr Burgess also dismissed criticisms from some Muslim groups which have urged ASIO not to characterise extremist Islamist groups as "religiously motivated" terrorists, arguing the terminology risks giving organisations like the Islamic State group a patina of religious authority.
"I am aware of that critique," Mr Burgess said.
"I appreciate hearing from them. I don't agree with them, but I understand their concern.
"Our umbrella terms of religiously motivated violent extremism — and there are many forms of that — or ideologically motivated violent extremism are just that, they are umbrella terms."
