Understanding the threat of terrorism

A University of Queensland academic is warning Australians not to be complacent when it comes to terrorism threats.

Dr Carl Ungerer, from UQ’s School of Political Science and International Studies, believes the threat of a terrorist act in Australia has been heightened since the case of suspected terrorist Willie Brigitte last year.

“I think Brigitte clearly showed that there is a potential threat to Australia,” he said.

“Here was a man with known links to Al Qaeda who was thought to be planning a terrorist act in Australia.

“Australia’s profile as a target has been raised because of our involvement in Iraq but we are also a target just because we are a liberal western democracy.”

He said 2004 would see further unrest in the region, particularly as Indonesia moved towards direct elections.

“That won’t be the cause of problems but in such a chaotic political atmosphere it is easier for extremists to emerge,” he said.

Dr Ungerer is a new addition to the teaching staff at UQ this year coming from former Labor leader Simon Crean’s office, where he was foreign policy advisor before the leadership change.

He previously worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as well as the Office of National Assessments.

At UQ he will lecture in International Relations where he will teach the next generation of diplomats as well as further his own research.

“We are developing at UQ a core group of people who are well versed in Australian foreign policy and security issues,” he said.

“We have here a group of high quality expertise that is outside of Canberra.

“It is a shift of expertise that is important because UQ will become a centre for training the next generation of diplomats and intelligence officers that are going to be much needed.”

Dr Ungerer said it was his plan to make the international relations courses very practical so that students would be expected to perform roles that diplomats would have to do.

“This includes work such as making policy recommendations that they would be expected to do as a young staffer on their first postings,” he said.

“That way when they get to DFAT they will be able to point to that practical experience and be ahead of the pack.”

Media: For more information contact Dr Carl Ungerer (telephone 07 3365 2663) or Andrew Dunne at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2802).