WikiLeaks and other online groups may no longer be out of ASIO’s reach

ASIO may soon experience the biggest widening of powers in a decade

Changes are being made to better integrate the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO) operations with Australia's two overseas spy agencies, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD).

The amendments, now before a Senate committee, aim to broaden ASIO’s role to collecting “foreign intelligence” for ASIS and DSD, which could include spying on groups such as WikiLeaks and any people in Australia associated with it on behalf of the two spy organisations.

“Currently there is no basis under which ASIO could, say, take letters between Julian Assange and his [Queensland-based] mother out of her letter box,” an anti-terrorism law expert from Monash University, Dr Patrick Emerton, said.

“Under the amendments it seems plausible that they could, because it is intelligence relevant to Australia's foreign relations connected to a person overseas.”

Attorney-General Robert McClelland’s Department has defended the amendments in its submission to the Senate committee, saying that they take into account that modern national security threats come from both state and non-state sponsored sources.

The amendments are expected to pass Parliament in June.

Register now for the ARN Security Forum 2013 on June 4 at the Sydney Mint

More about: ASIO, Attorney-General, Monash University, Monash University

Comments

Kevin

1

More power to the nameless paranoids.
Who decides what is and isn't a security threat?
When ever did any elected Government get a mandate to spy on their own citizens?
Julian Assange is one of the few people in this world trying to get the truth to the people. No wonder Governments are doing what they can to gag him. Governments fear the truth more than anything else.
Lies is the fodder Governments and their so called security agencies thrive on.

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