ASIO Says Politically Motivated Violence Now a Key Concern

Australia has experienced nine suspected terror incidents over the past year, a third of which involved religiously motivated violence, according to Mike Burgess, director-general of security at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). While none of the cases were connected to the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict, “the majority of incidents were allegedly motivated by nationalist and racist ideologies or mixed ideologies,” Burgess told a Senate inquiry on Nov. 4. Burgess reaffirmed that ASIO continues to assesses a greater than 50 percent chance of domestic terror activity within the next year, based on rising politically motivated violence. “My decision to raise the threat level followed a concerning increase in politically motivated violence,” he said....