CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s national security agency foiled an attempt by a foreign government to interfere in a domestic Australian election, the country’s spy chief said, highlighting the need for protection against such action as the country heads to the polls within months.
The unnamed foreign government used a wealthy individual dubbed a “puppeteer” to fund candidates favorable to their country’s aims, said Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), in his annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday night. He didn’t give details of the specific election, the country involved or the timing of the incident.
The “agent of interference has roots in Australia but did the bidding of offshore masters, knowingly and covertly seeking to advance the interests of the foreign power and, in the process, undermine Australia’s sovereignty,” Burgess said.
Foreign interference in elections has been a growing concern in democratic nations in recent years, including the widely-covered influence attempts by Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential vote.
Australia banned foreign political donations in 2019 as part of a suite of measures designed to crack down on outside interference in domestic politics. The Chinese government saw the reforms as targeted specifically at them, a catalyst in the long diplomatic spiral which has tarnished relations between Beijing and Canberra.
Burgess warned that interference was still being attempted “at all levels of government, in all states and territories.”
In the same speech, the ASIO chief said the isolation caused by the pandemic had sent online radicalization “into overdrive.”
“Isolated individuals spent more time online, exposed to extremist messaging, misinformation and conspiracy theories,” he said.
