A legal victory has brought Australia’s long-hidden spy operation in Timor-Leste closer to public scrutiny, as transparency advocate Rex Patrick pushes for the release of classified documents. The 2004 mission, which allegedly involved spying to influence oil and gas negotiations, remained shrouded in secrecy until a former spy and attorney general sought to challenge it in an international court years later. Patrick’s campaign aims to force the government to disclose records that could finally expose the full extent of the operation’s role in the controversy. The push highlights ongoing debates over national security and accountability in intelligence operations.
Rex Patrick’s latest transparency fight is over what he calls ‘most open secret in the history of Australian spying’ – maybe even the worldGet our daily political email, free app or daily news podcastA campaign to uncover any documents relating to whether Australian spies bugged Timor-Leste to gain the upper hand in sensitive oil and gas negotiations will be a little less secret after a critical win by the former senator Rex Patrick.The politician turned transparency advocate is trying to finally lift the lid on the top-secret mission in 2004 that became a public scandal years later after an ex-spy and a former attorney general attempted to mount a case in The Hague. Continue reading...
