Australia Outlaws Travel to Terror Hotspots

Australia on Thursday passed a law criminalizing travel to terror hotspots, a tough counter-terrorism measure aimed at stopping jihadists from going to Iraq and Syria to fight.

The Australian government has been increasingly concerned about the flow of foreign fighters to the Middle East to join militant groups such as Islamic State, with 70 Australians believed to have already made the journey.

The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) includes measures that make it an offense to enter a "declared area" where a terrorist organization is engaging in hostile activity, without a valid reason.

The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

"The foreign fighters bill that has passed the parliament today will mean, first of all, that it is easier to secure convictions against Australians who have been fighting with terrorist groups overseas," Prime Minister Tony Abbott told parliament Thursday.

"It will mean that it is easier to monitor potential terrorists here, and it will also mean... that it is easier to prosecute the preachers of hate who create the potential terrorists."

Abbott told parliament about 100 Australians were supporting jihadists who had traveled to the Middle East to fight with recruitment and funding from home.

Some 20 jihadists who fought with terrorist groups in the region had also returned to Australia, Abbott added.

"The best way to deal with returning foreign fighters is to stop them leaving in the first place... and I'm able to inform the House that some 70 Australian passports have been canceled to stop terrorists or potential terrorists from traveling."

The new law, which was passed by the lower House of Representatives on Thursday with bipartisan support, came as the Labor opposition raised concerns that another national security measure passed in September could see journalists jailed for up to 10 years.

Attorney-General George Brandis refuted the concerns, saying that the legislation was instead "intended to deal with a Snowden-type situation".

Documents leaked by U.S. intelligence fugitive Edward Snowden included reports in November that Australian spies tried to tap the phones of former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his inner circle, damaging relations between the two countries.