'This Parliament will not allow interference in our elections or in our democratic processes,' Senator Penny Wong declared recently. 'We will not allow these to be subject to foreign interference, and we will not allow the covert subversion of our politics by foreign interests.' It sounds like a perfectly reasonable aspiration, but not if you happen to be East Timor.
Over this last week, two remarkably contradictory things happened in Canberra. The Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter (pictured) shepherded through Parliament some of the most significant changes to foreign interference laws in recent times (the subject of Senator Wong's speech). It was also reported that he signed off on charges laid against Witness K, a former officer of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, and his lawyer, former ACT Attorney General Bernard Collaery.
Witness K and his lawyer are alleged to have conspired to share information about ASIS's illegal bugging of East Timorese offices during negotiations over natural resources in the Timor Sea. East Timor was due to lead evidence about this conduct in a case brought in the International Court of Arbitration in the Hague.
In other words, Witness K and his lawyer are accused of conspiring to reveal information about foreign interference in democratic processes and the covert subversion of politics by a foreign power. The kind of conduct they are alleged to have conspired to reveal is the kind of conduct the new foreign interference laws purportedly aim to prohibit.
As East Timor's resources minister Alfredo Pires said in 2015 of Australia's actions, 'if I was to do a similar thing in Canberra I think I would be behind bars for a long time'. This astounding level of cognitive dissonance appears to be a particularly Australian phenomenon (exhibit B being outrage generated by a sports commentator pronouncing names correctly in the proper performance of her duties).
The bugging of the East Timorese during the negotiations over the Timor Sea is a deeply disgraceful part of our national history for many reasons. It is yet another sorry example of how the Australian government's engagement with Timorese people always unfolds in ways that suit Australian interests. Aid workers have been put at risk, given the bugging was facilitated under the cover of an aid program.
To make matters even more unsavoury, Alexander Downer and other public officials went on to work for Woodside Petroleum, ultimately a key beneficiary of Australia's negotiating efforts. There was disquiet reportedly within