PRIME MINISTER
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P* J KEATING MP
REVIEW OF AUSTRALIA ' S INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
In the light of the fundamental changes in the world since
the end of the Cold War, the Government commissioned
earlier this year a review of the overall impact of changes
in international circumstances on the roles and priorities
of the Australian intelligence agencies and of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a provider of
reporting.
The review examined how Australia's interests have been
affected by the rapid and significant changes in
international circumstances, whether Australia still needs
the intelligence structure it has and, if so, whether the
roles and pRiorities of our intelligence agencies need to
be adjusted. It also looked at how changes in
international circumstances would affect management and
coordination arrangements between the Australian
intelligence and security agencies, and Australia's
partnership and liaison arrangements.
The review was conducted by the Secretaries Committee on
Intelligence and Security, the principal group of officials
advising Ministers on security and intelligence matters.
It includes the Secretaries of my Department, Foreign
Affairs and Trade, Defence, Finance, and the Attorney-
General's Department; and the Chief of the Defence Force
and the Directors-General of Security and of the Office of
National Assessments.
The agencies subject to the review were:
the Office of National Assessments ( ONA);
the Defence Intelligence Organisation ( DIO);
the Defence Signals Directorate ( DSD);
the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation ( ASIS);
the Australian Security Intelligence Organization
( ASIO); and
the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a
provider of reporting on overseas developments.
The Government considers that global and regional
relationships, freed from the rigidity of the Cold War
ideological and strategic divide, will become more complex
and diverse. A more fluid international environment will
require a sharper appreciation of Australian interests and
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priorities, of the resources available to pursue our goals,
and of the need to allocate those resources effectively.
As with our defence policies, our approach to the
collection and assessment of intelligence will need to be
increasingly self-reliant.
The requirement for accurate, informed judgments about the
issues and regions of most importance to Australia will not
diminish with the end of the Cold War. The intelligence
community, whether by collecting information which is not
available elsewhere, or by providing high-quality analysis
and assessment of political, economic and strategic matters
important to our national interests, will continue to have
a vital role to play.
The Government has decided not to alter the basic structure
of Australia's intelligence community which was set in
place after Mr Justice Hope's comprehensive reviews, for
reasons of enduring concern relating to efficiency and
effectiveness. Essential to that structure is the
separation of the assessment, policy and foreign
intelligence collection functions -a philosophy which the
Government continues to embrace.
The Government endorses the judgment in the review that,
since the completion of Mr Justice Hope's first Royal.
Commission on Intelligence and Security, the priorities of
the Australian agencies have been properly focused on
regional areas and issues of most relevance to Australia's
national interests. The end of the Cold War, therefore,
does not call for a fundamental reordering of priorities.
In general terms, political and strategic questions will
remain the first priority for Australia's intelligence
agencies. Economic issues will, in relative terms, become
more important in the post-Cold War era of the 1990s, but
assessment in economic areas generally depends less on
intelligence sources than is the case for political and
strategic subjects. Issues relating to transnational
criminal activity, the mass movement of people, and
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will also
warrant higher priority.
Consistent with the philosophy of a separation of the
assessment, policy and foreign intelligence collection
functions, the Government considers that the existing roles
of the individual agencies remain valid in the 1990s. The
rationale outlined by Mr Justice Hope for ASIO as a freestanding,
non-executive, advisory intelligence security
agency remains relevant in the 1990s and the Government has
therefore decided that ASIO should continue to have the
roles and responsibilities laid down in existing
legislation. The Soviet threat certainly informed an important component
of ASIO's activities, but threats from other sources of
foreign interference and politically motivated violence
have been important to ASIO for some time, and will remain
so. However, the implications for ASIG of the changes in
the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are more farreaching
thian for the other agencies.
The Government has therefore dec ided that, while ASIO's
capacity to meet its responsibilities must be maintained,
there is scope for resource reductions.
The Government has also decided to pursue important changes
to management and coordination arrangements.
A new medium-to-long-term planning mechanism is to be
established. This mechanism will, for the first time,
embrace both overt and covert intelligence collection,
recognising the centrally important role of the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade in keeping the Australian
Government informed about developments abroad.
The new mechanism, to be called the Foreign Intelligence
Planning Document, will provide for the integration of
judgments about changes in the international environment
with decisions about resources and the balance and mix of
skills across the intelligence agencies.
The Government has also decided to revise the agencies'
annual reporting requirements. Henceforth, the agencies
will be required to present advice to the Government
concerning the allocation of approved resources against
strategic priorities and program objectives.
The review stresses the need for a self-reliant
intelligence capability in those areas and issues of
highest priority for Australia, but recognises the benefits
which continue to flow to us from the long-standing
partnership agreements with the United States, United
Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. It also recognises the
importance of developing and strengthening regional
intelligence liaison arrangements.
Because assessments and judgments made now about the
implications of changed world circumstances need to be
monitored to ensure their continuing validity, the
Government is taking steps to ensure that the review just
completed does not constitute a one-off exercise; rather it
is the starting point for a process of change with specific
issues being addressed in an on-going way, ensuring
Australia's intelligence and security agencies remain able
to meet our needs in a rapidly changing world.
Given the sensitivity of the issues involved, a public
version of the review report will not be prepared. But in
accordance with established practice, I have provided the
Leader of the Opposition with a copy of the full report
which informed the Government's decisions.
CANBERRA 21 July 1992