Labor has raised grave concerns about the home affairs minister’s use of “privileged access to intelligence reporting”, after Karen Andrews publicly alluded to a potential attempt by China at interference in the federal election. The shadow minister, Kristina Keneally, has written to Andrews to remind her of “the vital convention that opposition is briefed on any developing matters of national security” during the election caretaker mode. The letter, seen by Guardian Australia, was sent after Andrews implied China might have timed the announcement of a security deal with Solomon Islands…
Tag: Kristina Keneally
Politicising national security ‘not helpful’, Asio spy chief says as Scott Morrison ramps up attack
Australia’s domestic spy chief, Mike Burgess, has declared the weaponisation of national security is “not helpful to us” after extraordinary scenes in federal parliament where Scott Morrison labelled a senior Labor frontbencher a “Manchurian candidate”. With Morrison ramping up the partisan rhetoric about risks to Australia’s sovereignty, the Asio director general told the ABC on Wednesday night the risk of foreign interference was “equal opportunity”. These risks affected all members of parliament, he told the 7.30 program, “so it doesn’t go after one particular party or the other”. Asked whether…