Australia Releases Fund To Counter Extremism
Canberra, Feb 2: The Australian government has committed new funding to prevent the rise of violent extremism. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Wednesday announced a 61.7 million Australian dollars ($43.9 million) funding boost for countering violent extremism (CVE) programs.
Andrews said in a statement that the new funding would help Australian law enforcement agencies respond to emerging extremist threats. “Australia is a peaceful, tolerant and harmonious country, but we cannot be blind to the fact that there are those among us who seek to sow hate, fear and discord,” she said.
“Violent extremists may have a range of ideologies and motivations, but none of them are welcome in this country. This government has zero-tolerance for anyone threatening the peace and cohesion of our society by trying to use violence to achieve a political, religious, or ideological goal,” she said.
Of the new funding, 24.5 million Australian dollars ($17.4 million will be spent expanding intervention programs into regional areas. Another 13.8 million Australian dollars ($9.8 million) will fund a national program to rehabilitate extremists who are in custody, and an international center for CVE research will be established at a cost of 8 million Australian dollars ($5.7 million). The move came after security agencies expressed concerns that the coronavirus pandemic and long lockdowns in Australia accelerated the spread of extremist ideologies, with people spending more time online.
