Canberra’s top intelligence officer said there was “no doubt” some right-wing extremists have been inspired by the Christchurch mosque attack, and that an attack in Australia by the extreme right is “plausible”.

Australian Security and Intelligence Organization director general Mike Burgess issued the warning at a parliamentary committee meeting early this month, and his agency’s annual report said the threat has increased in recent years.

The warning came as Australia’s top Islamic body warned a national government inquiry that discrimination against Muslims is on the rise.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said the government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill does not go far enough to address an increasingly intolerant society.

Australian author and journalist Andy Fleming, who has closely monitored the extreme right in Australia for 15 years, told The National the possibility of a far-right attack is “fairly high”.

Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, who is working on a research project with the generation who grew up during the War on Terror, told The National that anti-Muslim bigotry “intensified and escalated” after the attacks of 9/11.

Source: The National