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The Australian government faced angry demands on Thursday to name a “traitor” former politician accused by Canberra’s top spy of “selling out” the country to foreign powers.
In a rare public disclosure, Australia’s national security chief Mike Burgess said an unidentified country’s spy team had trained and recruited former Australian politicians.
“This politician sold out his country, his party and his former colleagues to advance the interests of a foreign regime,” the spy chief said in a speech in Canberra on Wednesday.
Australia is a member state “Five Eyes” The intelligence-sharing group, which includes the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, is a popular target for agents from countries such as China and Russia.
Mr Burgess, who runs the Australian Security Intelligence Agency, said the unidentified former politician was scouted “several years ago”.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
He said the person even suggested bringing the prime minister’s family into the “spy orbit”, but the plan was never carried out.
However, Burgess said former politicians hosted overseas conferences, spies posing as bureaucrats targeted and recruited participants, and ultimately obtained security and defense information from academics. He said he did.
The statement sparked speculation in the media and demands that the former politician’s identity be revealed.
Conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton told Sydney radio station 2GB: “The problem is that if he doesn’t come forward, it casts a cloud over everyone else.”
“If you’re going to release those details like Mr. Burgess did, I think you’re required to give a little more criteria or give a little more hint as to who that person is.”
“Former politicians are traitors”
Australian Conservative former finance minister Joe Hockey said all MPs were tainted by the revelations.
“The former politician is a traitor,” he told state broadcaster ABC.
He said it was “inconceivable” that the same politician would be allowed to “walk off into the sunset without his name or reputation being revealed”.
Mr Hockey, who also served as Australia’s ambassador to the US for four years until 2020, said Mr Burgess’ revelations had “embarrassed” all politicians.
“If you’re not going to reveal the person’s name, you shouldn’t do that – it’s absurd, it’s totally absurd.”
Hockey also reflected that sentiment. on social mediaBurgess wrote, “Instead of potentially slandering all those who have served our country, we should name them.”
Defense Minister Richard Marles said he did not know the former politician’s name.
“I respect what ASIO has done here in terms of not only putting this story in the public domain, but also maintaining the confidentiality of the facts surrounding this. There are many reasons why they should do that,” he told reporters. Probably.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he would not “second guess” the ASIO chief.
“I know Mike Burgess, I work with him, and he wouldn’t have said this unless he had a very good reason, and he didn’t think it was absolutely necessary. I wouldn’t have insisted,” he said. He said.
In a speech in Canberra, Mr Burgess said Australia was a “priority target” for a foreign intelligence unit known as the “A Team”.
The unit used a “fake British persona” to target Australians with access to “privileged information” on social networking sites, with the promise of cash rewards.
“The spies are posing as consultants, headhunters, local government officials, academics and think tank researchers, and claiming to be from fictitious companies such as Data31,” he said.
“Once the target is baited, the spies will attempt to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging app. Further steps may include offering to travel abroad to meet in person.”
Mr Burgess said his country’s spies had gone on a rampage and he wanted to let the other country know that his unit’s team leader was confronting spies in Australia.
Australia introduced the Foreign Interference Act in 2018, with former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying the bill’s “primary purpose” was to expose allegations of Chinese interference, according to Reuters.
Chinese-Australian businessman Di San Duong was sentenced on Thursday to nearly three years in prison for trying to influence a former federal minister, the ABC reports. He was the first person to receive the same.
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