Victoria proposes forcing suspected radicalised teenagers into programs
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Version 0 of 1. Victoria police are seeking powers to force those they identify as potential terrorists into deradicalisation programs, restrict who they associate with, and ban them from using the internet under a proposal before the state government. The Victorian attorney general, Martin Pakula, confirmed on Monday that under the proposal, curfews would be imposed on those teenagers deemed to be radicalised, regardless of whether they were planning to join conflict overseas or carry out a terrorist attack. “At this stage it’s only a proposal from Victoria police being considered,” Pakula told Radio 3AW. “It’s really about trying to get to young people before they become unduly radicalised and trying to engage them in conduct that would prevent their radicalisation. We know a lot of young people are being radicalised over the internet, it’s also known some community-based programs and interventions can help.” In February, a foreign policy and international relations scholar and former member of the US national security council, Hillary Mann Leverett, told CNN that Islamic State issued about 90,000 social media messages every day as part of its propaganda campaign. These messages are seen as key to the organisation’s recruitment efforts. In March it was revealed that 18-year-old Jake Bilardi, from the northern Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn, had used internet forums to gather information before joining the Middle East conflict, where he was reportedly killed. In April, two Victorian teenagers were charged over their alleged involvement in a plan to carry out an attack during Anzac Day commemorations. Pakula acknowledged that trying to restrict people from accessing these messages through banning them from the internet and restricting who they associated with would be a significant legislative move. An independent review of the proposal would occur, he said. “The government understands that in a free society, it’s quite a move to restrict who people associate with, and that’s why there needs to be an independent discussion,” he said. “You should be very, very reluctant to get to a situation where people’s rights are removed by ministerial fear. That’s why we have an independent judiciary to make these determinations, and it’s an important check and balance and safeguard to peoples’ basic rights and freedoms.” A spokeswoman from Victoria police declined to comment, saying “Victoria police do not comment on proposed legislation.” |