Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments

Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments

Reply #195 – December 16, 2025, 05:49:07 pm

Quote from: LP – on December 16, 2025, 05:35:50 pm

So what should they do?

The widespread calls for action are meaningless, bordering on dog whistling, when they are delivered without offers of a genuine solution.

Of course, when challenged the old "What can I do" response is specifically part of the problem!

It's clear to me, the loudest calls coming from the likes of Netanyahu and RedTrump is disingenuous, they profit from this violence, they do not want it to stop, they captain very highly profitable war machines.

I'll finish today with this, there is significant irony in the media commentators claiming the political dialogue has become too dangerous, too vindictive, many might not understand that irony, they are the medium, they are the editors and producers. They will profit heavily as well.

It's essentially one of the standard Liberal/ conservative talking points, the imputation and sometimes direct accusation that Labor governments are "soft on crime."

Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments

Reply #196 – December 16, 2025, 06:46:40 pm

Does anyone bother to read the ASIO Director-General's Annual Threat Assessments?

It's here: https://www.asio.gov.au/director-generals-annual-threat-assessment-2025

A couple of excerpts:

"Over the next five years, a complex, challenging and changing security environment will become more dynamic, more diverse and more degraded.

Many of the foundations that have underpinned Australia’s security, prosperity and democracy are being tested: social cohesion is eroding, trust in institutions is declining, intolerance is growing, even truth itself is being undermined by conspiracy, mis- and disinformation.

Similar trends are playing out across the Western world.

So what does this mean for our security environment?

Australia is facing multifaceted, merging, intersecting, concurrent and cascading threats. Major geopolitical, economic, social and security challenges of the 1930s, 70s and 90s have converged. As one of my analysts put it with an uncharacteristic nod to popular culture: everything, everywhere all at once.

Or as I described it a moment ago, more dynamic, diverse and degraded."
...

"The war in the Middle East has not yet directly inspired terrorism in Australia, but it is prompting protest, exacerbating division, undermining social cohesion and elevating intolerance. This, in turn, is making acts of politically motivated violence more likely."

Terrorism is a subset of politically motivated violence. It covers acts or threats intended to advance a political, religious or ideological cause through intimidation. So while a protest or an attack on an electoral office might be an act of politically motivated violence, it may not meet the threshold of terrorism.

We raised the national terrorism threat level in 2024 and I do not anticipate being able to lower it in the foreseeable future.

Politically motivated violence is raising the temperature of the security environment and making acts of terrorism more likely.

At the same time, traditional transnational terrorist groups such as Islamic State, al-Qa’ida and their affiliates are exploiting permissive spaces to revive and renew their capabilities, particularly in Afghanistan and parts of Africa. The groups have demonstrated their ability to conduct successful external attacks, although I stress that none of last year’s terrorist incidents in Australia were directed by an offshore group, and our greatest threat remains a lone actor using an easily obtained weapon."

Our greatest threat in part because, despite all of the surveillance and intelligence at ASIO's disposal, lone actors are almost impossible to detect and apprehend.