Spy chief warns Australia facing greater security challenges
In his annual threat assessment, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess warned that multiple countries were "relentlessly seeking information" about Australia's military capabilities.
"Defence personnel are being targeted in person and online. Some were recently given gifts by international counterparts. The presents contained concealed surveillance devices."
The AUKUS alliance of Australia, the US and Britain, would remain a "priority target for intelligence collection, including by countries we consider friendly," Burgess said.
He warned a "small number of authoritarian regimes" were behaving more aggressively, recklessly and dangerously.
"If the spy game has a rule book, it is being rewritten. If there are red lines, they are being blurred – or deliberately rubbed out."
At least three different countries had plotted to harm people living in Australia, Burgess said.
In one case, a foreign intelligence service wanted to trick a human rights activist to visit a third country.
"They planned to arrange an 'accident' that was anything but accidental, with the objective of seriously injuring or even killing the activist," Burgess said.
"Fortunately, ASIO intervened to stop the travel and foil the plot before it occurred."
In 2023, intelligence indicated a different hostile foreign intelligence service wanted to harm and possibly kill one or more individuals on Australian soil, he said.
"It goes without saying that plots like these are repugnant. They not only involve plans to hurt people – obviously bad enough – they are shocking assaults on Australian sovereignty and the freedoms we hold dear."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Synagogue door set alight and restaurant stormed in latest antisemitic attacks in Australia
A man set the door of a synagogue alight and a group of protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne on Friday night, the latest in a wave of antisemitic attacks in Australian cities. About 20 people were inside the synagogue in the downtown area of East Melbourne when a man poured flammable liquid on the front door of the synagogue on Albert Street before setting it on fire, Victoria state police said. The group was having Shabbat dinner, marking the beginning of the Jewish day of rest, when the attack took place at 8 p.m. local time, Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), wrote on X. No one was injured and firefighters extinguished the small blaze, police said, adding that the perpetrator, who remains unidentified, fled the scene. Just over 1 kilometer to the west on Hardware Lane – one of the city's most popular areas for restaurants and nightlife – about 20 protesters stormed into an Israeli restaurant, chanting slogans, police said. A 28-year-old was arrested for hindering police, and has been released on a summons. The group was chanting 'Death to the IDF' before arriving at the restaurant, CNN affiliate Nine News reported, citing witnesses. Staff at the restaurant, Miznon – which launched in the Israeli commercial hub Tel Aviv in 2011 before opening a branch in Melbourne – acknowledged the incident when contacted by CNN. Speaking at a press briefing, Acting Commander Zorka Dunstan of Victoria state police said officers were also investigating a third attack early Saturday morning in which three cars were set on fire near a business in the northeastern suburb of Greensborough. Suspects spray-painted the cars and the walls of the buildings, she said, adding that the business has been targeted by pro-Palestine protesters in the past. The security investigation unit, part of the counter-terrorism command, is investigating all the incidents, though police have yet to declare whether they constitute a terrorism incident, Dunstan said. 'We will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons or person involved,' she said. Many among Australia's 117,000-strong Jewish population are anxious after spate of antisemitic attacks in the country's two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, since late last year – including arson attacks on synagogues, and swastikas scrawled on buildings and cars. The latest attacks drew condemnation from officials and community leaders on Saturday. Denouncing the synagogue attack on X Saturday, Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan said it was 'designed to shatter…peace and traumatize Jewish families.' 'That it happened on Shabbat makes it all the more abhorrent,' she added, noting that children and women were among the people present at the venue. 'Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate, and any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of anti-Semitism,' she said. Melbourne's Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece described the attack as 'shocking,' according to Nine News. 'I cannot condemn this sort of behavior in stronger terms… this is a city of peace and tolerance, and we will not stand for this,' he said. Ryvchin, from the ECAJ, urged the nation to condemn 'these deplorable crimes.' 'Those responsible cannot be reasoned with or appeased. They must be confronted with the full force of the law,' he wrote on X. Israeli President Isaac Herzog joined in condemning the attacks in a post of his own on X, urging Australian officials to 'take all steps necessary to protect their Jewish citizens.' 'This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months,' Herzog wrote. 'But it must be the last.' Likewise, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement Saturday calling on Australia 'to take all necessary measures to bring the perpetrators to justice and to prevent such attacks in the future.' This story has been updated with additional developments.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Top Asian News 8:09 a.m. GMT
Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue and forced the congregation to flee on Friday, seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled blaze that left a worshipper injured. A man doused the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and set it alight around 8 p.m., a police statement said on Saturday. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door and no one was injured, police said. Fire fighters extinguished the blaze which was contained to the front entrance, police said.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue and forced the congregation to flee on Friday, seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled blaze that left a worshipper injured. A man doused the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and set it alight around 8 p.m., a police statement said on Saturday. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door and no one was injured, police said. Fire fighters extinguished the blaze which was contained to the front entrance, police said. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said both incidents were designed to 'traumatize Jewish families.' 'Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate, and any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism,' she said in a statement. Antisemitic attacks roil Australia since 2023 A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Jewish and Muslim organizations and hate researchers have recorded drastic spikes in hate-fueled incidents on both groups. The Australian government last year appointed special envoys to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia in the community. Last December, two masked men struck the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne's southeast. They caused extensive damage by spreading a liquid accelerant with brooms throughout the building before igniting it. A worshipper sustained minor burns. No charges have been laid for that attack, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed on antisemitism. The Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes Victoria state police, federal police and Australia's main domestic spy agency, said the fire was likely a politically-motivated attack. Police say synagogue attack is a serious crime Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan described the latest synagogue fire as a serious crime. Police released a CCTV image of a suspect. 'I'd like to make it very clear that we do recognize that these crimes are disgusting and abhorrent. But at this stage, we are not declaring this a terrorist incident,' Dunstan told reporters. 'In the course of our investigation, we will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons involved, or person, to determine if this is in fact terrorism. At the moment, we are categorizing it as a serious criminal incident and responding accordingly,' she added. A terrorism declaration opens the investigation to more resourcing and can result in charges that carry longer prison sentences. The synagogue's president, Danny Segal, called for the wider Australian community to stand with his congregation. 'We're here to be in peace, you know, we're here for everybody to live together and we've got a fresh start in Australia, such a beautiful country, and what they're doing is just not fair and not right, and as Australians, we should stand up and everybody should stand up,' Segal told reporters. Protesters harass diners in Israeli-owned restaurant Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant. A Miznon restaurant window was broken. A 28-year-old woman was arrested for hindering police. Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, said diners were terrorized as the group chanted 'Death to the IDF,' referring to the Israel Defense Forces. 'Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews,' Abramovich said. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece condemned both the synagogue and restaurant incidents. 'These criminal acts against a Melbourne synagogue and an Israeli business are absolutely shocking,' Reece said. 'All of us as a community need to stand up against it.' Israel's deputy foreign minister condemned the attacks, saying it was 'yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia,' in a statement on X. Sharren Haskel expressed her full solidarity with the Jewish community in Melbourne, 'Israel stands with you,' she said in the statement.
