Australia says it is subject to a “serious threat of terrorism”.

Australia says it is under an immediate terrorist threat from “Australian born, Australian educated and Australian residents” and has called for a multi-layered response to protect the country.

The Counter-Terrorism White Paper, released by the Australian government today (23 February) has outlined an immediate need for protection of Australia and its interests as the National Security Office announces that “terrorism continues to pose a serious threat.”

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced to journalists at a press conference that the government’s security and intelligence agencies have assessed that terrorism has become a “persistent and permanent feature of Australia’s security environment.”

Blaming the threat on Al-Quaida and militant Islamists, Rudd said that prior to Jihadist terrorism, Australia had not been a specific threat. However, more than 100 Australians have been killed in attacks across the world, and the government has been forced to act on threats.

According to the Prime Minister, since 2001, 38 people have been prosecuted as a result of counter-terrorism operations, with 20 convicted under the criminal code. In addition, over 40 Australians have had their passports revoked or denied in relation to terrorism.

“The challenge of counter-terrorism is real. The threat we face is continuing. And the agencies that advise us on these matters have concluded that this threat is now a permanent threat. Our response to this threat must be multi-layered.”

Referring frequently to the events of 25 December when Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Mr Rudd said there had been a clear urgency in producing the White Paper.

“We all get numbed to the terrorist threat. It’s a word which is used and people have become so used to it over the last near decade, that it no longer bites home. December 25 was a near-run thing in the United States.”

The Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, said that new visa processing arrangements which include enhanced fingerprinting, biometrics, facial imaging and screening will affect around 10 countries – yet to be named – and Smith admitted that there would need to be “diplomatic effort required.”

However, Australian newspapers say that the government’s new security measures could invite diplomatic backlash and experts have said the paper does not go far enough.

With the focus on protecting the country at airport and visa stage it is understandable why the response has been relatively muted.

Chair of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade references committee, Russell Trood, reportedly said that the Paper did not adequately address the issue of how to counter the threat from home-grown terrorism.