THE YEAR IN REVIEW
OVERVIEW
7. The period covered by this report was one of considerable activity within the Australian Intelligence Community (AIC).
8. While much of the increased activity was concerned with preparations for the Sydney Olympic Games, the AIC agencies continued to fulfil their day to day charter obligations as well as responding to the challenges posed by a dynamic geo-political environment and rapid technological advancements.
9. As a direct consequence of increased AIC activity, the volume and variety of tasks performed by this office also increased. A brief summary of the key activities and events that affected this office during the reporting period is provided below.
INSPECTION ACTIVITIES
10. Inspection activities again constituted the great bulk of the office's work. Results of these activities are discussed in this report's chapters on the individual agencies. This year for the first time we conducted inspections in DIGO which established rules to protect the privacy of Australians, in collaboration with this office.
COMPLAINTS AND REFERRALS
11. The total number of new or resumed complaints was 68 as compared to 49 in 1999/2000. Sixty-three complaints were finalised.
12. The inquiry into the joint investigation by the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade into activities of the late Mervyn Jenkins of DIO was completed early in the reporting year and I provided a report to the Minister for Defence in October 2000. The minister released an unclassified version of the report in December 2000.
13. The second major inquiry referred by the Minister for Defence, into intelligence handling at the time of the killings of five newsmen at Balibo in 1975, was all but completed at the end of the reporting year.
14. During the year the Minister for Defence also referred for inquiry the concerns of a serving member of the Defence Force about matters related to DIO. The inquiry was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.
15. Last year's report provided details of an inquiry into a complaint from an asylum seeker where I expected to recommend compensation. It has not been possible to do so because the person's lawyer has not submitted a claim, despite several reminders.
16. Following the conviction and formal sentencing of Jean-Philippe Wispelaere in June 2001 I prepared a third and final report for the Prime Minister. The report was in final draft at the end of the reporting year.
JURISDICTION
Intelligence Services Bill 2001
17. The Intelligence Services Bill 2001 was introduced into Parliament on 27 June 2001. The purpose of the bill is to make ASIS a statutory agency, to regulate ASIS and DSD's intelligence collection activities, to establish a parliamentary committee to oversee the expenditure and administration of ASIS and ASIO; and to add to and strengthen existing accountability and oversight mechanisms.
18. The provisions in the bill empowering the parliamentary committee to oversee administration and expenditure will mean that the committee and the Inspector-General will have complementary roles. One would expect there to be a productive and cooperative relationship between them.
19. The legislation will also, importantly, provide specific statutory recognition for the rules applying to ASIS and DSD that protect the privacy of Australians, which currently operate on an administrative basis subject to oversight by the Inspector-General.
20. Finally, the legislation will make clear the limitations under which ASIS and DSD operate, and provide additional reassurance that they do not engage in domestic surveillance or targeting of Australians.
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986
21. The Intelligence Services (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2001, which was also introduced into Parliament on 27 June 2001, proposes some minor amendments to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 (the IGIS Act).
22. First, the bill amends subsection 17(9) of the IGIS Act, which currently requires the Inspector-General to consult the responsible minister before completing an inquiry, if the Inspector-General proposes to produce a report critical of an agency. The amended provision will enable the Inspector-General to complete the inquiry before consulting the responsible minister.
23. Secondly, the bill would repeal section 19(2) of the IGIS Act, which requires the Inspector-General to obtain permission from the responsible minister before visiting certain places to which access is restricted.
24. Thirdly, the bill would extend the maximum term of office of the Inspector-General from three years (which is the shortest maximum term of any senior statutory office) to five years.
25. Finally, the bill would require the Inspector-General to comment in the annual report on compliance by ASIS and DSD with the privacy rules. Inspectors-General have previously done so as a matter of discretion.
REAPPOINTMENT AS INSPECTOR-GENERAL
26. My first term as Inspector-General expired on 18 February 2001. The Governor-General in Council, on the advice of the government, reappointed me for a second and final term of three years.
EXTERNAL PROFILE
Commonwealth Parliament
27. I attended hearings of the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee examining the budget estimates.
28. At the invitation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on ASIO I provided evidence to the committee to assist with its inquiry into ASIO's public reporting.
Media
29. As in previous years there was considerable media interest in some of the office's activities, some of it aroused by items in the annual report. Journalists generally understand that it is not possible to provide details of the likely outcomes or progress of inquiries beyond an estimate of when an inquiry might be completed and an indication of the formal processes that apply, such as the requirement to refer a draft report to the head of an agency for comment.
30. There were regular approaches from journalists about the progress of the Jenkins and Balibo inquiries.
31. I appeared on the ABC's 7.30 Report to discuss the asylum seeker case referred to above (paragraph 15).
Internet presence
32. The IGIS homepage (http://www.igis.gov.au) continued to provide information about the work of the office and links to other websites. We received a regular stream of queries about the office and occasionally people chose to lodge complaints. We made considerable use of e-mail to establish the whereabouts of and conduct preliminary discussions with potential witnesses in the Balibo inquiry (see paragraph 13).
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)
33. Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with AUSTRAC, I and staff of the office attended AUSTRAC headquarters to receive briefing on the operation of the system, including the nature and extent of approved ASIO access. Towards the end of the reporting year we received the first of the regular reports provided by AUSTRAC on such access and were in discussion with ASIO about the best means of monitoring its access to the system.
Presentations
34. I gave a presentation to the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers' annual conference in October 2000 and also spoke at the International Intelligence Counter Measures Conference in Sydney in November 2000.