The ASIO chief is this bizarre figure in the Australian political landscape that pops up every now and then to say something along the lines of:
We have a serious problem. Our enemies are spying on us. They are trying to kill people. Elected officials are leaking state secrets. We are not going to tell you who they are, what they did, or who our enemies are. Our work is vital. Okay, thanks.
Obviously, I am paraphrasing, but ASIO takes the state conspiracy of silence to new levels at a time when our allies in America are tearing down the secrecy establishment.
Before the end of the month, we may be reading the Epstein List, learning who really killed JFK, and scrolling through the FBI files related to the two assassination attempts on Donald Trump. Brand new FBI Director Kash Patel appointed his second in command, Dan Bongino, this morning. One of the first things Patel promised to do with his team is address the erosion of trust and improve transparency.
Returning to Australia, ASIO has gotten itself into the habit of blurting out vague problems like an automatic Cityrail announcement that tells you to listen for updates while a Summer storm throws half the bush over the tracks with a lashing of hail.
This week we were warned that Australian Defence personnel have been ‘targeted’ while serving overseas and that spies might be putting listening devices in their gifts. Also, unnamed ‘overseas actors’ apparently have an interest in our nuclear submarine program.
Gee, thanks.
‘I would never have imagined that outlaw motorcycle gangs would be on our target list,’ said the ASIO chief, during a 60 Minutes interview.
Really? Are they sure they didn’t interview the Babylon Bee?
I had to check twice that this was a real interview.
In February of 2024, ASIO told us about an unnamed former politician who, according to the ABC, ‘…was successfully cultivated by an international spy ring.’
The ASIO boss added, ‘This politician sold out their country, party, and former colleagues to advance the interests of the foreign regime. At one point, the former politician even proposed bringing a Prime Minister’s family member into the spies’ orbit. Fortunately, that plot did not go ahead, but other schemes did.’
That sounds bad.
I hope the taxpayer isn’t doing anything stupid, like funding their retirement.
What party did they belong to?
Which foreign regime were they serving?
Can we have them arrested?
What about a bit of old-fashioned public shaming?
ASIO refused to tell us their name or political affiliation, instead saying: ‘Personally, I don’t think they’ll be stupid enough to repeat what they’ve done in the past, so problem neutralised, harm in some elements was done.’
That is not really good enough.
The Australian public is paying for a service – to determine who its enemies are, foreign and domestic – yet we are offered no information in return for our money that couldn’t otherwise be obtained through wild guesswork.
Why does ASIO get to decide which of our enemies to protect with their lack of disclosure? They are not elected by the people.
There are some pieces of information a population should know when heading to the polls for a federal election, especially if it pertains to foreign policy and the political parties who may have been sheltering traitors under their wing.
Being soft on crime domestically empowers petty criminals, and being silent on crime internationally makes Australia a desirable target.
I bring this up because the ASIO boss has returned for his yearly fright session, this time revealing that multiple nations have been caught plotting to murder Australian critics both within our borders and overseas.
ASIO was shining its own shoes when it praised itself for identifying ‘at least three’ countries.
‘In a small number of cases, we held grave fears for the life of the person being targeted. In one operation, a foreign intelligence service wanted to silence an Australian-based human rights activist.’
Which countries, mate?
When Australian human rights campaigners look at the map, considering their holiday destination, which parts of the world should they avoid?
Apparently, ASIO is also worried that these nations (whether they are the same nations or different nations, we don’t know), might want to meddle in our federal election.
For which side?
To what end?
ASIO did not say, only adding that they ‘will be watching’.
