UK ‘not worried' about US review of AUKUS
The UK government held its own review of the program last year, conducted by the country's top advisor for the project, Sir Stephen Lovegrove.
Sir Stephen is in Canberra today meeting senior officials and will travel to Perth tomorrow to Australia's submarine base HMAS Stirling.
7.30's Sarah Ferguson interviews Sir Stephen Lovegrove.
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The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
ASIO chief exposes shocking cost of foreign spying on Australia
Foreign espionage is costing the Australian economy at least $12.5bn a year, with the ASIO boss warning against complacency against the 'real, present and costly danger'. The director-general of security Mike Burgess has for the first time publicly put a dollar figure on what foreign spies are costing Australia and espionage remains one of the country's principal security concerns. 'This is critical because I believe that we need to wake up to the cost of espionage – which is more than just financial,' he said in the annual Hawke Lecture at the University of Adelaide on Thursday night. 'We need to understand espionage is not some quaint, romantic fiction; it's a real, present and costly danger.' ASIO director-general Mike Burgess issued his warning delivering the annual Hawke Lecture at Adelaide University. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman Mr Burgess released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, to try to count the cost of espionage. The report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5bn in the 2023-2024 financial year, an estimate Mr Burgess called 'conservative'. 'This includes the direct costs of known espionage incidents, such as the state-sponsored theft of intellectual property, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding,' he said. 'As just one example, the Institute estimates foreign cyber spies stole nearly $2bn of trade secrets and intellectual property from Australian companies and businesses in 2023-24. 'The report includes a case study where spies hacked into the computer network of a major Australian exporter, making off with commercially sensitive information. 'The theft gave the foreign country a significant advantage in subsequent contract negotiations, costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars.' Mr Burgess said too many were complacent about the cost of espionage and urged 'all parts of our system – public and private, federal, state and local – to recognise the threat'. 'I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage,' he said. 'I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised. 'I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences. 'Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China.' Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, was singled out by ASIO boss Mike Burgess. Picture: NewsWire / POOL / AFP / Mikhail Metzel He again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia and said Russia remained 'a persistent and aggressive espionage threat'. 'Last year, two Russian-born Australian citizens were arrested and charged with an espionage-related offence,' Mr Burgess said. 'Separately, I can confirm in 2022 a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers were removed from this country. 'But Russia is by no means the only country we have to deal with. 'You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets. 'The obvious candidates are very active … but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them a strategic or tactical advantage, including sensitive but unclassified information.' Mr Burgess revealed ASIO had disrupted 24 'major espionage and foreign interference' operations in the past three years alone. 'Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication,' he said. 'ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted – more aggressively – than ever before.' While AUKUS and military technology secrets were targets, Australia's intellectual property and cutting edge research was also in the sights of foreign agents. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said spies were targeting Australia's cutting edge research and technology as well as defence secrets. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman He said an overseas delegation visiting a 'sensitive Australian horticultural facility' snapped branches off a 'rare and valuable variety of fruit tree' in order to steal them. 'Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development,' he said. He said foreign intelligence services are 'proactive, creative and opportunistic' in their targets. 'In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices. 'Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them.'
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
Jewish leaders raise ‘practical' concerns about Palestinian state
Jewish leaders in Australia have raised concerns about the practical implications of Palestinian statehood, as legal experts argue there is 'flexibility' under international law to pave the way to recognition. The nation's leading international law academics have backed the global push to recognise a Palestinian state as being justified under the standards set under the Montevideo Convention, outlining four criteria for statehood. As momentum builds for a two-state solution, 40 members of Britain's House of Lords have warned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that a Palestinian state would not meet the criteria for recognition under the international convention. The letter, sent by British Attorney-General Richard Hermer and some of the UK's most prominent lawyers, argued that recognition would contravene international law because Palestine did not have a functioning single government or diplomatic capacity. The concerns have been echoed by Executive Council of Australian Jewry head of legal Simone Abel, who cautioned of the difficulty of recognising a state with no 'legitimate effective government capable of exercising control that our government can engage in relations with'. 'While recognition of Palestinian statehood may pose a conundrum under international law, the law is ever-evolving,' she said. 'At the heart of what would be a political act are very real practical questions.' Zionist Federation of Australia president and leading lawyer, Jeremy Leibler, also raised concerns about the practical implications of recognition, branding the push as 'completely detached from reality'. 'Now, let's say it does satisfy some of the legal criteria. What are the borders of this state? Who's the government? Is it going to be the Palestinian Authority?,' he said. 'Hamas is still in control of Gaza. It just seems completely detached from reality.' But University of Sydney international law professor Tim Stephens said he disagreed with the argument that a Palestinian state could not be recognised under international law, arguing that the requirements could be applied 'flexibly'. The 1933 Montevideo Convention required that all states have a permanent population, defined territory, functioning government and capacity to enter into diplomatic relations with other countries. 'I would disagree with that assessment from those expressing that view, I think a pretty reasonable case can be made that Palestine does meet the criteria for statehood and has for some time,' he said. 'Whether it's the effective government, borders, capacity to enter into international relations or permanent population, they're the four criteria. 'There's a good argument that all, all four can be met.' University of Sydney chair of international law and UN special rapporteur, Ben Saul, agreed Palestine satisfied some of the formal criteria for statehood, with the requirement for effective government posing a 'challenge'. 'It's a really important point that those criteria of statehood are not, and have never been, rigidly applied under international law,' he said. 'There is flexibility to take into account other considerations, and particularly in cases where people have a right of self-determination … that plays a very important role in how states regard whether an entity could be a state or not.' ANU international law expert Donald Rothwell said he agreed Palestine met the requirements for statehood, remarking that it was not uncommon for new states to have unsettled boundaries and the 'unique circumstances' could be considered. 'A strict view can be taken in terms of the interpretation of those provisions, or some margin of appreciation can be applied as to how those conditions are interpreted,' he said. Economics The Productivity Commission has dismissed calls from major companies and the Business Council of Australia to widen R&D tax incentives. Politics Jim Chalmers is weighing whether to lift the effective tax rate on Australia's 500 biggest companies while cutting it for smaller businesses after the Productivity Commission recommended a new cashflow tax.
The Australian
2 hours ago
- The Australian
How student HECS debt relief will work, when you'll get money
The Albanese government's signature HECS reforms passed parliament on Thursday, meaning more than three million Aussies will see thousands of dollars wiped from their student debt. For those with an average debt of $27,600, it's a saving of $5520. The Bill also included changes to when the money needs to be repaid, saving those on lower incomes from mandatory deductions. Here's everything you need to know about the changes – and when they'll come into effect. About $16 billion will be slashed from the nation's student loan debts. Picture: NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar HOW MUCH WILL I SAVE? The reforms will wipe about $16bn of HELP debt, VET loans and apprenticeship loans for approximately three million Australians. According to calculations from the government someone with the average HELP debt of $27,600 will have $5520 wiped from their outstanding loans. People at the upper end of debt, exceeding $60,000, could see a reduction of more than $12,000. HOW DO I GET MY DEBT REDUCED? Those with a debt don't have to do a thing – the reduction will be automatically applied by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Calculations will take into account the most recent indexation of debt, and will be backdated to the amount owed as of June 1, 2025, meaning you won't be penalised for having paid off extra between then and now. Changes will be implemented automatically, and Aussies will receive a text when the reduction has been applied. WHEN WILL I GET MY MONEY? Australians have been urged to be patient as the changes are implemented. Education Minister Jason Clare said the ATO would need to 'write about 50,000 lines of code to implement' the policy and 'make sure that they get it right'. He assured those with a debt that the passing of the legislation meant the changes were 'guaranteed', regardless of how long it took. When the reduction has been applied, debt holders will receive a text notifying them. WHAT ELSE HAS CHANGED? Thursday's Bill also contained measures to increase the minimum income repayment threshold – the amount you earn before repaying the loan becomes mandatory – from $54,000 to $67,000. The amount to be repaid will now be calculated only on the income above the new $67,000 threshold, rather than on a person's total annual income. After the legislation has been signed off by the governor-general (receives royal assent), the new repayment schedule will take effect for the 2025-26 income year. This is expected to take place within the next two weeks.
