The threat of terrorism is now so serious that the traditional debate between civil liberties and the protection of society is "redundant", Liberal MP Andrew Nikolic has said.
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Mr Nikolic, one of the Liberals' most vocal national security hawks and a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, called on Tuesday night for a fundamental shift in the national security debate away from the individual and towards the majority.
"The nature of the new security order today is so critical as to make redundant the all-to-familiar and orthodox war of words between dissenting factions of our thankfully open society," he said during a parliamentary debate on national security.
"This usually comes down to those who say they are merely defending human rights in objecting to counter-terrorism measures. But in doing so they are making life even more difficult for those charged with the responsibility of actually protecting these same rights for all Australians while at the same time keeping us safe."
His remarks make clear that conservative MPs who favour tougher national security measures intending on still pushing a hard line after Tony Abbott was deposed as prime minister by Malcolm Turnbull.
Mr Nikolic said Australia was facing a "unique" threat. Many objections to tougher counter-terrorism measures were "impractical nonsense" and smacked of "undergraduate debate".
"The security stakes in Australia are now infinitely too high for such luxury. Australian lives are at risk and our way of life is under threat," he said.
"To date, Australia has been at pains to err in favour of the individual. It is now time to err consciously in favour of the vast majority of peace-loving Australians."
He said the four waves of counter-terrorism measures already passed by the Parliament were "not the end of the government's resolve". Without further measures, "we will in effect compel our security agencies to fight terrorism on our behalf with one arm tied behind their backs", he said.
He called for the government to consider whether the current 12-month time limit on bail-like control orders was enough.
"Inevitably, complex investigations are long and painstaking, as terrorists strive to continually adapt to agency tactics and powers. They often use our own laws, which put a premium on civil liberties, against us."
The Tasmanian MP, a former army officer and Defence official, was among the Liberals who came out swiftly in support of Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg on Sunday in reviving criticism of the Grand Mufti and his response to the Paris attacks.
Mr Nikolic also indicated that children aged 12 and younger were involved in terrorism activity.
"Of the many hundreds of high-profile counter-terrorism investigations currently under way, it is clear that other teenagers and pre-teenagers are being drawn into terror networks."
Parliament is expected to pass as soon as Wednesday legislation to strip the Australian citizenship from dual nationals who engage in terrorism.
The joint committee is set to examine proposed laws that would lower the age at which control orders can be applied from 16 to 14.
