Sydney. Australia will seek to strip citizenship from dual nationals who fight with militants overseas or who carry out domestic attacks, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of tough new policies aimed at combating the threat from Islamist radicalism.

Australia is on high alert for attacks by radicalized Muslims or by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, having raised its threat level to high and undertaken a series of high-profile raids in major cities.

Abbott told reporters that some 100 Australians were fighting in Iraq and Syria backed by about 150 Australia-based “facilitators”. Attorney General George Brandis said that 40 percent to 50 percent of those fighting overseas are believed to have dual nationality.

Security analysts have estimated that thousands of foreign fighters are in Iraq and Syria, drawn by the rise of the Islamic State radical group and traveling from scores of countries around the world.

“Today I announce that … we will be legislating within a few weeks to strip dual citizens involved in terrorism of their Australian citizenship,” Abbott told reporters.

Abbott this week appointed a new counter-terrorism coordinator as part of the new security laws, which are aimed at stopping what he called the “most serious national security challenge that we will face in our lifetimes”.

Under tough new security powers won by his conservative government in October, Australian citizens can face up to a decade in prison for overseas travel to areas declared off limits.

Abbott last week ruled out an amnesty for Australian citizens seeking to quit foreign militant groups and return home in the wake of media reports that his government was negotiating with potential defectors.

The new legislation, which is expected to be unveiled within weeks, will update the country’s Citizenship Act to target those foreign fighters, as well “lone wolves” in Australia who have been inspired by them to carry out attacks domestically, Abbott said.

The decision to remove someone’s citizenship will be subject to judicial review, he said, and will not apply to Australian citizens who do not hold a second passport.

“The new powers will apply to dual citizens who fight with or support groups such as ISIL, or Daesh, as well as so-called ‘lone wolves’, whether in Australia or on foreign soil,” Abbott said in a news release, referring to Islamic State.

Reuters

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Sydney. Australia will not partner with Sweden to build its next-generation submarine fleet, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, narrowing the list of potential partners for the A$50 billion ($39 billion) program to Germany, France and Japan.

Swedish defense firm Saab, France’s state-controlled naval contractor DCNS and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems have expressed interest in the project.

However, but Abbott ruled Sweden out over its lack of recent experience.

“The last Australian submarine came off the production line in about 2001. As I understand it the last Swedish submarine came off the production line in about 1996, so it’s almost two decades since Sweden built a submarine,” Abbott told reporters.

“We are working with the three countries that have continuous, relevant submarine experience.”

Sources have said Australia is strongly considering buying a version of the 4,000-metric-ton Soryu-class submarine built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries to replace its aging Collins-class fleet.

Abbott had promised something closer to an open tender process in an attempt to shore up support ahead of a challenge to his leadership from within the ruling Liberal Party last week. He survived but emerged weakened from the internal revolt.

He had pledged ahead of his election in 2013 that up to 12 submarines would be built at state-owned shipbuilder ASC in South Australia state, before beginning to back-pedal last year by signalling that cost and timely delivery were paramount.

That placed the embattled Abbott under enormous political pressure at home, where powerful labor unions and the political opposition have demanded a domestic build to boost Australia’s languishing manufacturing industry.

His government had ruled out an open tender in December, appearing to put Japan in the box seat before the recent change of course around the leadership challenge.

For Japan, such a deal would mark its re-entry into the global arms market after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ended a ban on weapons exports last year.

Japanese sources with knowledge of the deal have told Reuters that if Australia issued a formal tender, political sensitivities meant it was highly unlikely Japan would take part.

The project had long been expected to cost around A$40 billion, but Abbott on Friday revised that figure upwards to A$50 billion, making it by far the most expensive defense procurement project in Australia’s history.

Reuters

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