Terrorism is the worst crime we face: AFP

Police have defended a proposal to give them easier access to unprecedented powers by claiming terrorism is greater than any other crime.

Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Neil Gaughan wants streamlined access to control orders, he told a parliamentary committee reviewing the foreign fighters Bill on Thursday.

Control orders, which must be issued by a court, impose obligations and restrictions on a person to protect the public from terrorism.

The order may include a curfew, wearing an electronic monitoring tag, restrictions on communications, regular reporting to police, and a range of other measures.

But they're controversial.

They have only been sought and issued twice since their introduction in 2005 - to Jack Thomas and David Hicks.

The UK abolished its control order regime in 2011.

The AFP wants to streamline the process of applying through the attorney-general to save time and paperwork.

When asked by the committee why the AFP needed control orders instead of arresting and prosecuting terrorist suspects, Mr Gaughan replied there was a legal hole when it came to the admissibility of foreign collected evidence.

"In a perfect world, I agree, we would be arresting people," he said.

"If we don't have sufficient evidence for beyond reasonable doubt to get a prosecution, this provides us another alternative."

When asked by Senator Penny Wong why that wasn't an argument for lowering the threshold for a range of other crimes, Mr Gaughan replied: "Because I think the impact of terrorism on the Australian community is distinctively greater than any other crime we face."

The reply startled a number of the federal politicians present, with deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asking Mr Gaughan to repeat himself.

"The impact on the Australian community of a terrorist attack, in my view, will have a greater impact than any other crime.

"In relation to public confidence, morale and how people respond."

Deputy Chair Anthony Byrne then put the following to Mr Gaughan: "Be truthful. Just say what (this request) is instead of this piecemeal rubbish.

"You've got an emergency situation ... you've got an agency that's struggling to cope ... you've got control orders that in the past haven't been used, so what you're doing is you're desperately trying to find a legal mechanism that you can use to disrupt or prevent terrorism?

"Correct," Mr Gaughan replied.

Source http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/11/13/terrorism-worst-crime-we-face-afp