Government News Index
You may be spied on - for Australia's wellbeing
By Laura Tingle, Political Correspondent
Sydney Morning Herald
Australia's top-secret satellite spy agency has been given sweeping new powers to report on Australians to the Federal Government.
New rules governing the work of the Defence Signals Directorate were quietly introduced during last year's election campaign by the outgoing defence minister, Peter Reith.
The old rules explicitly prohibited the deliberate interception of communications between Australians in Australia - but the new rules, and the legislation under which they are made, do not.
Further, the new rules allow the DSD to report to the Government on Australians if their activities affect national security, foreign relations and even the country's economic wellbeing. Previously, DSD was only allowed to report on Australians where their activities involved threats to a person's safety or involvement in serious crime.
News of Mr Reith's move to expand DSD's powers comes amid scrutiny of the agency's role in the Tampa affair.
The formal role of the DSD is to intercept foreign satellite and phone communications in the region for intelligence purposes, not the communications of Australians. But allegations emerged last month that DSD intercepted calls to and from the Norwegian ship MV Tampa, including with the Maritime Union of Australia. The Government later denied DSD had reported to it on communications "from" the MUA.
But the matter is now the subject of an inquiry by the Inspector General of Intelligence Services.
During questioning from Labor's defence spokesman, Chris Evans, at estimates committee hearings last month, DSD officials refused to release the rules governing Australians' privacy at the time of the Tampa crisis - on the basis that they were classified documents.
The new rules, formulated by Mr Reith on October 29, say they may now report on Australians where their involvement is already public knowledge or where the person is "a representative of the Commonwealth or of a state or territory in the normal course of official duties".
DSD may report on Australians if deleting reference to them would reduce the usefulness of reports related to "maintaining Australia's national security; maintaining Australia's economic wellbeing; promoting Australia's foreign relations; preventing or investigating the commission of a serious crime; responding to an apparent threat to the safety of a person; responding to a serious risk to an Australian intelligence operation or operative; or ... relates to an Australian person who is acting for, or on behalf of, or is suspected acting for, or on behalf of, a foreign power".
The rules add that "a person within Australia shall be presumed to be an Australian person; and a person outside Australia shall be presumed to be a non-Australian person", subject to other evidence of nationality.
Last night, Senator Evans said the new rules raised questions not only about Australians' privacy but about what directions DSD was given during the Tampa affair.
Civil libertarians have already expressed fears about proposals to expand the powers of the domestic spy agency, ASIO.