Posted by Joe Hockey: ‘absurd’ that ‘traitor’ former politician not identified
Australia’s former treasurer and current US ambassador, Joe Hockey, is FURIOUS Asio’s Mike Burgess has dropped his bombshell without saying who it is. He told ABC radio:
My first thought the former politician is a traitor. It wasn’t an allegation by the head of our intelligence agency. It was a statement of fact.
And in making that statement of fact, I can only think that the head of Asio was fully aware that there will be calls for that person to be named.
Because it is absolutely inconceivable that you would have a former politician representing their community representing the country who then goes and engages with a foreign adversary.
And somehow they’re allowed to walk off into the sunset without having their name or their reputation revealed. And that is absurd. It’s already raised questions here in Washington, DC. It raises questions for our Five Eyes relationship, and this sharing of intelligence particularly with existing members of parliament and former members of parliament for Australia.
And also, it makes us all question as representatives in the parliament, who we can trust who of our current and former colleagues can we trust? And that’s ridiculous.
Key events
Joe Hockey said it was “not standard practice” as Hockey is now apparently an expert in how Asio and like minded security agencies operate.
He compares it to America, which has a completely different system and for all its faults, is fairly open in some areas (have you ever heard an American cop talk about an incident compared to what Australian cops say?).
You know, they’ve launched investigations over here. I mean, you know, you had you had the Mueller inquiry into President Trump. You had an FBI inquiry into Hillary Clinton. You don’t just make this allegations, leave them unnamed and say, ‘Oh, yeah. They’re back in the community. They’re fine’, that just does not happen. I mean, allegations have been made against Senator Menendez here as a sitting senator.
They named the sitting senator.
I mean, if anyone believes in transparency and accountability and in the integrity of our freedom, and the best interest of our nation, then the head of our intelligence agency, or the Minister responsible, needs to name who that person was that was a traitor to Australia.
Hockey: ‘inconceivable’ that Asio boss would speak about traitor without identifying them
It may not be legally possible to name the former MP, so Joe Hockey said Mike Burgess should not have made his statement because it “besmirched every one that serves in parliament, past, present and future”.
(That is probably a bit overdone but Hockey seems very emotional over this.)
Talking about a traitor amongst the ranks. He shouldn’t do that. If he’s not going to name that person. It’s absurd. It’s absolutely absurd.
It’s inconceivable here in the United States or the United Kingdom, or most other countries, that the head of the intelligence agency would go out and make that statement without telling everyone who it was.
Joe Hockey wants to know identity of former MP who ‘sold out’ Australia
Joe Hockey now has a private consulting business focussed on trade and investment between Australia and the United States.
Richard Spencer, a former US navy secretary, serves as global chair of the business (so you can guess what sort of trade and investment the firm helps connect people with) – and Hockey says his position as a former US ambassador and having Spencer as chair means that people in Washington DC know him and have already started talking about Mike Burgess’s speech.
I deal with people over here all time. I want to know who was it.
I want to know if I was sitting in the National Security Committee of the cabinet. I want to know if they were a colleague in the Liberal Party, or if they were a colleague across the parliament.
I want to know who they were, what was said to them, under what circumstances and how that they use that information.
It’s just not good enough to make a serious allegation. It’s not … as if Mike Burgess is a journalist or a critic or a commentator. He is the head of our intelligence agency, and he came out in emphatically and decisively and made a statement effect that a politician was working for another country against Australia’s interests.
Joe Hockey: ‘absurd’ that ‘traitor’ former politician not identified
Australia’s former treasurer and current US ambassador, Joe Hockey, is FURIOUS Asio’s Mike Burgess has dropped his bombshell without saying who it is. He told ABC radio:
My first thought the former politician is a traitor. It wasn’t an allegation by the head of our intelligence agency. It was a statement of fact.
And in making that statement of fact, I can only think that the head of Asio was fully aware that there will be calls for that person to be named.
Because it is absolutely inconceivable that you would have a former politician representing their community representing the country who then goes and engages with a foreign adversary.
And somehow they’re allowed to walk off into the sunset without having their name or their reputation revealed. And that is absurd. It’s already raised questions here in Washington, DC. It raises questions for our Five Eyes relationship, and this sharing of intelligence particularly with existing members of parliament and former members of parliament for Australia.
And also, it makes us all question as representatives in the parliament, who we can trust who of our current and former colleagues can we trust? And that’s ridiculous.
Good morning
Amy Remeikis
Thank you to Martin for starting us off on this leap year bonus day (like this year needed to be any longer).
You have Amy Remeikis with you now to take you through what is the last sitting day for this session.
All anyone is focussed on though, is: who is the former politician who spy boss Mike Burgess said “sold out their country, party and former colleagues”?
You can catch up on that with Daniel Hurst’s report here, if you haven’t already seen it.
It is going to be a four coffee day at least.
Ready? Let’s get into it.
Victorians swelter through hot night as bushfire threat remains
Victorians have sweltered through a tense night as bushfires threatened to destroy lives and homes, Australian Associated Press reports.
An emergency warning instructed residents of Dereel, Corindhap and Rokewood Junction, south of Ballarat, to shelter indoors last night after an anxious day of fire danger.
A watch and act message encompassed the nearby areas of Enfield, Rokewood and Mount Mercer, telling residents there to evacuate.
The fire danger rating in the nearby Wimmera region was catastrophic yesterday and a state control centre spokesperson, Luke Hegarty, warned Victoria was not out of the woods.
Authorities were waiting to see how the Bayindeen bushfire north-west of Ballarat developed today after crews built containment lines around its 157km perimeter.
But cooler temperatures were expected today following a cool change after Mildura on Wednesday reached the mid-40Cs.
Horsham was among areas in the 30Cs and recorded a wind gust of 96km/h after 5pm yesterday.
Health workers walk off job over ‘obscene’ parking fees
Health workers at 16 NSW hospitals will walk off the job to protest against an “obscene” increase in parking fees leaving them thousands of dollars out of pocket, AAP reports.
The Health Services Union said about 1,000 members would walk off the job for two hours today.
Protests will take place from midday at Westmead, Westmead Children’s, Concord, Liverpool and Campbelltown hospitals and will include psychologists, scientists, theatre technicians, kitchen staff, cleaners, security guards and others.
The union said some hospitals had proposed parking fee increases of up to 127% but workers needed a fairer deal.
“The great parking gouge must stop,” HSU assistant secretary Lauren Hutchins said.
“With surging cost of living pressures, charging staff $2,600 to park at work is obscene and immoral.”
Chalmers calls for incentives for critical mineral industry
In his speech in São Paulo, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, also called for incentives for producers of environmentally sustainable critical minerals.
With growing concern about the Australian nickel industry due to growing international competition from Indonesian producers, Chalmers argued that “critical minerals industries and supply chains are not reliable enough or sustainable enough”.
“We should look to reward sellers that invest in improving the quality and sustainability of critical minerals.”
Paul Karp has the full story:
Pat Conroy to map out defence industry plan
The Albanese government is expected to release its defence industry development strategy this morning mapping out the “strategic rationale” for a domestic defence industry industrial base and pathways for maximising support for Australian industry and its contribution to national security.
Pat Conroy, the minister for defence industry, will outline the actions the government will take to grow that industrial base, which employs more than 100,000 Australians, and deliver a greater partnership between defence and industry.
It is hoped the new level of detail will give industry the information they need to prepare, invest and deliver on the development, production and sustainment of defence capabilities.
The sovereign industrial capability priorities will be replaced with a streamlined and focused list of seven sovereign defence industrial priorities.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you some overnight highlights before my colleague Amy Remeikis takes you through the main events from Canberra.
An “aggressive and experienced” team of spies has been set up by a foreign government to target influential people for secrets about intelligence, the military and trade, Australia’s spy chief has revealed. A former Australian politician “sold out their country, party and former colleagues” after being recruited by spies for a foreign regime, according to Asio chief Mike Burgess as he gave his annual threat assessment. Although the episode was several years ago and the network had now been confronted, Burgess said the threat of foreign interference was “deeper and broader than you might think”.
Jim Chalmers was set to tell the G20 economic ministers in São Paulo that Australia’s growth in the last quarter was “quite weak” and the soft landing to reduce inflation without a recession was “assumed but not assured”. In an advance copy of the speech, Chalmers warned that next week’s national accounts would reveal the weaker position but it was the “the inevitable consequence of global uncertainty, higher interest rates and cost of living pressures”. The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed yesterday the consumer price index was 3.4% in January, fuelling hopes of interest rate cuts from the current cash rate of 4.35%. More coming up.
Victorians are hoping a cool change will sweep across the state today and provide some relief from bushfires that have burned through 22,000 hectares. People endured another hot night overnight after temperatures had reached into the 40s in some western parts yesterday. More coming up.
And today the government is to reveal its defence industry plan. Details are sparse at the moment but we have a bit of information coming in a few minutes.