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Australia, explained.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess delivers the 2025 Lowy Lecture, 4 February 2025. (Sahlan Hayes/Lowy Institute)
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess' words at the Lowy Lecture in November now carry new significance.
Meeting the challenge of violent extremismMeeting the challenge of violent extremism
About the author
Sam Roggeveen
Sam Roggeveen is Program Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. He is the author of The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace (Opens in new window), published by La Trobe University Press in 2023.
Topics
In light of the terrible events in Bondi, Sydney, yesterday, it's worth revisiting last month's Lowy Lecture by the head of Australia's domestic intelligence service, ASIO.
Burgess spoke at length about extremism and the potential for violence, but ended his remarks on a note of confidence about Australia's ability to meet the threat. Despite yesterday's tragedy, Burgess is still right about Australia's enduring strengths, which ought to give Australians a measure of reassurance today:
Despite the scale of these challenges, Australia is better placed than many other Western democracies to meet them. Our Parliaments are sovereign, our communities are resilient, our economy is growing. These attributes, along with others such as compulsory voting and a social safety net, are critical stabilisers and insulators. While the threats and challenges facing us are significant, they are not insurmountable.
