{"id":1512361,"date":"2024-02-21T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelwest.com.au\/?p=383355"},"modified":"2024-02-21T16:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:30:00","slug":"australias-secrets-aggressively-sought-by-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/02\/21\/australias-secrets-aggressively-sought-by-countries\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s secrets \u2018aggressively\u2019 sought by countries"},"content":{"rendered":"
Hostile countries are “aggressively” seeking to steal Australia’s most important secrets and more should be done to toughen rules around what ex-spies can do, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.<\/p>\n
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has warned other nations are trying to snatch sensitive information – from defence capabilities to foreign policy and medical advances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a submission to the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, ASIO said the need to protect Australia’s secrets could not be overstated.<\/p>\n
“It is critical to keeping Australians safe, preserving our democratic values, maintaining strategic advantage and retaining the trust of our key allies,” it added.<\/p>\n
ASIO told the committee – which is reviewing an amendment to the Defence Act related to military secrets – that secrecy provisions could be hardened for the nation’s intelligence community personnel due to the “unprecedented threat currently facing Australia”.<\/p>\n
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