The overblown security concoction being cooked up by George Brandis and our security elite is more about protecting the spy establishment than the nation.
Already we have a taste of what lies in wait once the new bundle of ASIO laws are passed.
Legislation, to be introduced shortly, provides for two new offences relating to unauthorised disclosure of information about “special intelligence operations” – up to five years and then up to 10 years for aggravated offences. Currently the tariff for unauthorised communication of information is two years.
There’s to be no mucking around when it comes to preserving state secrets, including ones that are not particularly worthy of the word “secret”. The penalties will apply even in cases of public interest disclosures about misconduct by security agencies where no risk to national security is involved.
That’s what makes the Timor-Leste spying case so apposite. Of course, it was a bugging and spying operation conducted by ASIS, not ASIO – though things have become a little blurred.
The then head of Asis, David Irvine, who got authorisation for the bugging of the Timor-Leste ministerial office, is now the head of Asio, and ordered the raids on parties engaged in the complaint about the eavesdropping mission.
As a result of the espionage the Timorese are now before the permanent court of arbitration at the Hague, trying to unstitch the treaty with Australia over the oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea.
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