Jihadist doctor & terror: saying "just don't do it" won't do it – Milne

Greens Leader Christine Milne says that Daesh is running a sophisticated propaganda campaign and the Prime Minister's response is inadequate.

"Where are the prevention programs Mr Abbott?" Greens Leader Christine Milne said.

"This propaganda is sophisticated and appealing to hearts and minds.

"It's not enough for the Prime Minister to just stand there with his eight flags and say "don't do it". That won't work. It a recipe for complete failure.

"Appeals from Daesh to hearts and minds like 'come and help your brothers and sisters with medical care because they are suffering' will not be countered with threats of punishment.

"Where are the prevention programs to help stop young people from being attracted to horrendous organisations like Daesh? Only a tiny fraction of counter terror funding was restored to such programs but they should be a top priority.

"It is time the Prime Minister stopped just pushing the terror button and actually tried to understand why young people are being attracted to these organisations and solved the problem at its source.

"Building a cohesive, tolerant and inclusive community in Australia should be the Prime Minister's top priority. Instead he is sending our troops into the Iraq quagmire and cracking down on everyone else's freedoms.

"Real leadership will bring people together, not divide them. But the Abbott government, backed by the Labor party, is instead using home grown terrorism as an excuse for mass surveillance of everyone and for a war that we cannot win.

"A safer Australia is a more inclusive, generous and supportive Australia. Fanning the flames of fear, difference and anxiety will put Australia at risk. Going to war is putting us at risk.

"I am again calling on the Abbott government and the Labor party to support the Greens' bill to set up a Centre for Social Cohesion and to urgently fund the prevention programs that the community is crying out for.

"Extremists need vulnerable young people to feel isolated, alienated or simply not valued in order to win them over. We shouldn't make that easier for them."