Senator Ellison must come clean on Omar Abdi Mohamed Robert McClelland - Shadow Minister for Homeland Security,

Media Statement - 16 February 2004

In a public statement issued on 30 January 2004 Senator Ellison said that it was "immaterial" that Omar Abdi Mohamed had visited Australia five times. This is despite the fact that Mr Mohamed is under investigation in the United States for receiving funds from an organisation that is listed in both Australia and the United States as a terrorist organisation.

Australian authorities were only alerted to the entry of Mr Mohamed by press reports published on January 30 2004. Senator Ellison's assertion later that day that Omar Abdi Mohamed's entry into Australia was immaterial, prior to fully establishing the potential threat that Omar Abdi Mohamed posed to Australia, was irresponsible.

Senator Ellison now has an obligation to advise the Australian people:

• When investigations of Omar Abdi Mohamed's activities first commenced in the United States;
• When United States authorities ascertained his presence or suspected his presence in Australia;
• Why the United States authorities failed to inform Australian authorities of Mr Mohamed's presence in Australia and the issues being investigated;
• What steps are being undertaken to investigate the activities and associations of Omar Abdi Mohamed during his time in Australia.
• Did Mr Mohamed have access to funds of a listed terrorist organisation while he was in Australia.

Senator Ellison effectively excused his earlier statements by today claiming that he was ignorant of all the relevant facts when he made his January 30 statement. If the Minister did not have access to all the facts then he should not have assumed to make a definitive statement about the relevance of Mr Mohamed's entry into Australia. There is no room for assumptions in the defence of Australia's homeland security.

Rather than making overly optimistic assumptions Senator Ellison should ensure that Australia's intelligence sharing relationships deliver important information regarding threats to our national security in a timely and constructive manner.