Police investigate arson on Victorian defence company as 'far-left terror'

Arson attack on Victorian defence manufacturer Lovitt Technologies investigated as 'far-left terror'

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team is investigating an attack on a Melbourne defence manufacturer as an act of terrorism. (Supplied: AFP)

Authorities investigating an arson attack on a Victorian defence manufacturer last year are now considering it a possible act of far-left terror.

Shortly after the arson attack at Lovitt Industries, a video emerged from a group claiming responsibility and linking the incident to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

AFP Detective Superintendent Anthony Hall said authorities were working to identify those responsible, releasing new images of the suspects.

An arson attack on a Victorian defence manufacturer last year is being investigated as an act of far-left terror.

Lovitt Industries, based in Melbourne's north-east, was targeted in July last year with three vehicles set alight and a building graffitied.

A video released after the attack, purporting to be from a group responsible for the attack, further threatened the manufacturer with a message to "stop arming Israel or else".

Joint counter-terror authorities have now revealed the incident is being investigated as a terror attack, "potentially orchestrated by far-left extremists with anarchist and revolutionary ideologies".

The ABC has been told it is the first time Australian authorities have investigated what they consider to be a potential far-left terror attack, motivated by anarchist and revolutionary ideology.

The counter-terror team, made up of officers from Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and ASIO, have released images from the video, along with images from the attack, in the hope of identifying those responsible.

A speaker in the video, dressed in black and standing before a Palestinian flag, claims that Lovitt Technologies was targeted for supplying parts to the global F-35 fighter jet program, of which both Australia and Israel are members.

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team has released images of the suspects accused of targeting Lovitt Technologies last year. (Supplied: AFP)

It also included instructions on how to make similar firebombs to those used in the arson attack.

In a statement, AFP Detective Superintendent Anthony Hall said police were progressing in their investigation.

"We clearly have some information about these alleged offenders and are focused on identifying who they are,'' he said.

Concerns about rise in far-left terror risk

Authorities have warned of a growing concern about far-left extremism in recent years, particularly motivated by conflict in the Middle East.

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team has released new images of the suspects. (Supplied: AFP)

ASIO Director General Mike Burgess said in a speech to the Lowy Institute last year that while far-right extremism makes up more of ASIO's caseload, far-left extremism was a real concern.

"While nationalist and racist violent extremists make up the significant majority of our investigations into ideologically motivated extremism, events in the Middle East triggered a troubling increase in anarchist and revolutionary extremism, which is also straining cohesion," he said in November last year.

"Since October 2023, we've seen more provocative protests and a notable uptick in intentionally disruptive and damaging tactics by anti-Israel activists, including multiple acts of arson, vandalism and violent protest against defence companies accused of supplying weapon components."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for countries to collaborate on efforts to counter what it described as a growing threat of far-left terror. (Reuters: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Last month US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, hosted a summit in Washington DC calling for countries to collaborate on efforts to counter what was described as a growing threat of far-left terror.

The summit was criticised by some as politically partisan, including by Democrats within the US, given it gave no similar regard to concerns about far-right terror.

Australia was represented at the conference by an embassy official.

A government source said there was no connection between this announcement and the Trump administration's push on far left extremism, saying the Australian government made the assessment on its own merits.