4j.. AUSTRALIA
FOR PRESS 19 FEBRUARY 1978
OFFICE. OF NATIONAL. ASSESSMENTS
The Prime Minister,, Mr Malcolm Fraser, announced today the the
Office of National Assessments would begin operations on
February.
The decision to create the Office of National Assessments
( ONA) was announced by Mr Fraser on 5 May last year, and
legislation. to establish the Office was assented to on
19 October ( Act No. 107 of 1977).
Mr Fraser said that the Director-GeneridL of ONA, Mr R. W. Furlonger,
had taken up duty in August and had been engaged since in
recruiting staff and in making other administrative preparations
for ONA to begin operations.
The Prime Minister said that the decision to establish the
Office of National Assessments had been very well received by
those sections of the community concerned with analysing the ways
in which present and future changes in Australia's external
environment could affect our national security and welfare.
Mr Furlonger had reported that he had been able to attract high
calibre staff from a variety of authorities and intellectual
disciplines, and the Government looked forward to the progressive
improvement of the quality and range of assessments available
to it as ONA established itself.
ONA will not itself collect intelligence by clandestine or
other means, nor will it concern itself with domestic situations.
It will, however, analyse intelligence and other information on
international, political, strategic and economic issues
of national importance to Australia. It will coordinate
and reconcile the assessments of the various Commonwealth authorities
on external issues, which often affect the interests of more than
one Department or authority. In cases where unanimity cannot
be reached, the Government expects ONA to make the best assessment
it can, but also to indicate what the major dissenting judgement
or judgements are.
Mr Fraser said that ONA would not be a large body, and that it would
have a professional staffof about 35,. consisting of officers
permanently appointed to ONA as well as specialists seconded from
other Departments and authorities, such as Foreign Affairs, JIO,
National Development, the. Reserve Bank, Trade and Resources and
Treasury. ONA would avoid duplicating existing resources and data,
but would involve other authorities in its work, and base its
assessments on information available either inside or outside the
Government.
2.
The Government attached great importance to the close
involvement of the economic Departments in the work of ONA.
The Royal Commissioner on Intelligence and Security,
Mr Justice Hope, had emphasised that, while politico-strategic
assessments would have continuing importance, Australia, as
similarly placed countries were doing, needed to do much more to
develop its assessment capability in the economic and resources
fields. It was clear that developments inthese fields
would be of increasing significance fbr Australia's national
development and security.
The establishment of ONA represents a major step forward in
implementing the recommendations of Mr Justice Hope. Mr Fraser
said that he had'on 25 October announced Government decisions
on other recommendations made by the Royal Commissioner, and
these were also now being put into effect.