CANBERRA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Australian federal government will ask state counterparts to consider changing counter-terror laws to allow authorities to hold terror suspects for up to 14 days without charge, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday.
Turnbull will host state leaders in Canberra on Thursday for a series of special Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meetings on counter-terrorism, and on Wednesday, he said he would ask the states to change the law to allow police to hold suspects for longer without charge.
Speaking on Australian radio on Wednesday morning, Turnbull said current laws pertaining to holding terror suspects "just aren't sufficient," and that after receiving advice, he would push for a 14-day maximum holding term.
"The aim is to agree with the states to have consistent pre-charge detention laws that would enable somebody who has been charged to be detained and questioned for up to 14 days with all of the appropriate oversight," Turnbull said.
Turnbull said his government was also preparing to ask the states for photographs from citizens' drivers licenses, in order to fast-track facial recognition technology for security use at airports, shopping malls and other busy public places.
"At the federal level we obviously have passport photographs, or have got a photograph in a federal government system of one kind or another," the prime minister said.
"We believe if we bring together driver's licences, then we can start to build up a national system that will enable us then more quickly to identify people, particularly to be able to identify people that are suspected of, or involved in, terrorist activities."
Turnbull added that the government's number one priority was "keeping Australians safe", reiterating that there was no place for set and forget" politics in terms of terrorism.
"I want all (Australians) to know that we are relentless, tireless in ensuring that our agencies have the tools to keep them safe," he said on Wednesday.
