Short of waiting for radicalised youth to plan an attack, there's no mechanism to force them to change their views, a former counter-terrorism cop turned MP has told parliament.
Jason Wood was a Senior Sergeant in Victoria's counter-terrorism police unit before first entering politics in 2004 and returning five years ago.
He's called for a new community protection intervention order to take legal steps toward preventing radicalisation.
He said Numan Haider, the 18-year-old who was shot and killed after stabbing two police officers outside a suburban Melbourne police station in 2014, was a classic example of a person who had shown signs of being radicalised.
"Yet there's no mechanism for having a younger person like that, or an older person, with these views actually being compelled to change their behaviour or change their views," he said.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Mr Wood said parents had raised concerns about children watching beheading videos, talking with extremists on social media or being coaxed by "extremist clerics" who "plant a seed of evil" in their child's minds.
He believes families should be able to ask a magistrate for a legally-binding order that the child no longer associate with people who share the extreme views or no longer watch beheading or other Islamic State propaganda videos.
"The option of waiting for something bad to happen ... will eventually lead down one path and that's if they don't change their views or don't basically stay where they are they commit a terrorist attack," he said.
Mr Wood said planned attacks on Christmas eve, mother's day, Anzac Day and to bring down a commercial flight between Sydney and Dubai could have killed hundreds of people if they weren't foiled by police.
