Threat levels of violent extremism linked to COVID lockdowns have decreased markedly over the past year, according to Australia’s domestic spy chief.
“It is true; there are less people in this country who want to conduct active violence in the name of their cause,” said Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
“The volatility has reduced. In particular, around COVID. So, there is less angst these days as we’re not subject to mandates,” he told a Senate Estimates hearing.
He also noted that while the department had seen a significant reduction in the number of cases they were investigating, there was still a small amount of volatility from individuals maintaining grievances around the pandemic response….