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Broadening spying on Julian Assange – Australian govt introduces new law

Last week the government introduced legislation to define ASIO’s role more broadly to include collection of intelligence ”about the capabilities, intentions or activities of people or organisations outside Australia.”..

ASIO eye on WikiLeaks,The Age 23 May 11, “………declassified official briefings do not support Ms Gillard’s public assertion that Assange broke Australian law by publishing leaked US government secrets.

Confirmation of Australian intelligence reporting on WikiLeaks comes as the government moves to broaden ASIO’s ability to spy on Australians involved with activities outside Australia that are of interest to the government. Ministers and officials have previously refused to confirm or deny the existence of any Australian intelligence reporting or interest in relation to WikiLeaks or Assange……

Last December The Age published a series of stories based on the leaked US embassy cables provided by WikiLeaks that revealed highly critical US assessments of former prime minister Rudd; Senator Mark Arbib’s confidential contacts with the US embassy;…..

on December 17 the AFP announced it had ”completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction”……

Government sources told The Age last year that there was legal ambiguity over whether ASIO could collect intelligence on WikiLeaks under its foreign intelligence collection function. The issue turned on whether WikiLeaks could be defined as a ”foreign political organisation”.

Last week the government introduced legislation to define ASIO’s role more broadly to include collection of intelligence ”about the capabilities, intentions or activities of people or organisations outside Australia.”….

Assange said in August 2010 that he had been warned by an Australian intelligence source that he could expect ”dirty tricks” by US intelligence.

He later said he was tipped off by an Australian intelligence source that he and WikiLeaks had been the subject of ASIO scrutiny and that information about WikiLeaks was being provided to the US government by Australian officials.

ASIO eye on WikiLeaks

May 23, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, civil liberties