In a shocking move, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) raided offices of the law firm of Bernard Collaery, an Australian lawyer acting on behalf of the Government of East Timor[1]. Mr Collaery is in the Hague to put forward a case against the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) for spying on the Timorese Cabinet in relation to negotiations to decide the maritime border between Australia and East Timor in 2004. It is also believed that an unnamed whistleblower was arrested in conjunction with the raids.
Pirate Party Australia condemns the intimidatory tactics employed by ASIO in their bid to shut down an investigation into alleged illegal spying by another Australian intelligence agency.
“The spate of revelations into the abuses of power by various Australian intelligence agencies demonstrates that they are out of control,” commented Simon Frew, President of Pirate Party Australia. “They have shown a reckless disregard for the rule of law and have caused Australia serious damage in our relationships with more than one of our closest neighbours. It is clear that there needs to be a thorough inquiry into all of the Australian intelligence agencies, and strict limitations need to be imposed and enforced.”
It has been reported that ASIO refused to show a detailed warrant due to claims of ‘national security.’
“The phrase ‘national security’ is being used to keep Australians in the dark regarding the plethora of questionable and seemingly illegal activities that are being done by our agencies. The revelations that Australian citizens are being placed under warrantless blanket surveillance has been met by the Government and Opposition with the response of ‘it is long-standing practice for Australian Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.’ This is not good enough.
“The Australian people have a right to know what is being done in our name. While successive Australian Governments act to deflect short term political damage, longer term damage is being done to Australia’s reputation and to our democracy itself. It is high time that politicians start acting in the interests of the Australian people and reign in the intelligence services,” Mr Frew continued. “Between revelations that the former Defence Signals Directorate was prepared to indiscriminately hand over Australians’ data, and ASIO raiding a law firm in an attempt to intimidate a lawyer acting in a case surrounding ASIS’ illegal activities in East Timor, there is a definite pattern that they are acting with impunity. It is clear that current oversight and limitations are weak at best.”
Deputy President Melanie Thomas commented: “It is time that that our elected politicians and our Prime Minister show some true ethical backbone and demand answers of the agencies. A democratic government must respect the rule of law, and the law must apply to our intelligence agencies just as it applies to citizens. When agencies can blatantly act outside their jurisdiction and engage in subterfuge befitting of a Hollywood movie, we’ve all got something to worry about.”
“In a month where we’ve heard revelations of spying on our allies in Indonesia, the tapping of Australian MPs’ phones[2], the sharing of Australians’ metadata with the NSA and now this, it’s fair to say that we need nothing short of a full public inquiry into the actions of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” Ms Thomas concluded. “This is a conversation Australia needs to have.”
[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-03/asio-raided-lawyer-representing-east-timor-in-spying-case/5132486
[2] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-20/afp-confirms-phone-monitoring-federal-mps/5106240