{"id":33872,"date":"2017-08-29T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=33872"},"modified":"2017-08-28T15:59:48","modified_gmt":"2017-08-28T05:59:48","slug":"2017-review-intelligence-keeping-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/2017-review-intelligence-keeping-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2017 review of intelligence: keeping watch"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

In previous posts I looked at the major structural reforms<\/a> recommended in the recent intelligence review and at the legislative changes<\/a> that will be required to implement them. Today I look at the oversight of the Australian intelligence community. As usual, I\u2019ll recommend that readers refer to the review<\/a> (PDF) for more detail (chapter 7 pertains).<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s robust oversight mechanisms<\/a> owe their existence to the two Hope Royal Commissions<\/a> on intelligence and security in 1974 and 1983. As Peter Edwards pointed out in The Strategist<\/em> recently, Hope really knew his stuff<\/a>, and the layered ministerial, legislative, parliamentary and statutory oversight mechanisms for the nation\u2019s intelligence agencies have rendered sterling service to Australians. The 2017 review agrees, observing that the current framework constitutes \u2018a well-structured set of arrangements that provide independent assurance about the legality and propriety of intelligence operations and the management of resources\u2019.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that the reviewers are content with the status quo. While leaving all of the major building blocks in place, they make two major recommendations for change to the current arrangements. First, recognising the importance of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) role\u2014effectively a standing royal commission\u2014they suggest broadening it and increasing the staffing of the office from 17 to \u2018around 50\u2019. Second, they recommend expanding the remit of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS). Both recommendations are predicated on the evolving nature of intelligence work, changes to the composition of the Australian intelligence community and the need for greater public outreach.<\/p>\n

The agencies recommended to newly come under the watchful eye of the IGIS and PJCIS are the intelligence elements of the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.<\/p>\n

That would certainly make for a bigger workload for the IGIS, especially if it\u2019s combined with more public outreach. Whether that all adds up to a need to triple the workforce is impossible to judge on the information provided, though it\u2019s also possible that the reviewers thought the IGIS was already understaffed. I won\u2019t argue; more oversight resources are a good thing.<\/p>\n

The review recommends that the PJCIS\u2019s remit be similarly extended to include the agencies listed above. The committee would receive regular briefings from the IGIS, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and the director-general of the proposed Office of National Intelligence. However, the operational activities of the intelligence agencies would continue to be outside the purview of the committee\u2014at least as far as formal inquiries go. The review says (paragraphs 7.44 and 7.45) that:<\/p>\n

Rather than giving the PJCIS the power to conduct its own inquiries into agency operations, we favour strengthening the connection between the PJCIS and the IGIS \u2026 We recommend that the [Intelligence Services Act] be amended to enable the PJCIS to request the IGIS conduct an inquiry into the legality and propriety of particular operational activities of the [national intelligence] agencies, consistent with the IGIS\u2019s remit, and to provide a report to the Committee, the Prime Minister and the responsible Minister.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s little to argue about in the recommendations made, but there are a few things not mentioned in the review that could usefully be considered in the implementation phase. While not explicitly part of the intelligence oversight framework, other mechanisms play an important role in assuring the public of the propriety of intelligence operations and management. Those include freedom of information processes and recourse to the courts. Neither of those avenues is mentioned in the review. It\u2019s hard to believe that everything our intelligence agencies do is sensitive beyond the reach of FOI laws, but there\u2019s no discussion of the appropriateness of current blanket exceptions.<\/p>\n

Another important\u2014if often imperfect\u2014oversight mechanism not mentioned in the review is the ability of the press to expose questionable behaviour and to ask difficult questions. A related issue is the protection of whistleblowers. There\u2019s an undeniable downside to the public release of secret information, but it can also be positive to shed light on improper activities. And it provides a disincentive to cover up misconduct under the cloak of operational security. Edward Snowden\u2019s leaks led to press investigations\u2014aided by American FOI laws\u2014that revealed a systematic failure<\/a> in the oversight of the US National Security Agency. It\u2019s true that Snowden leaked far more than that, and I think the net result of his activity was negative<\/a>. But the case shows that whistleblowing can play an oversight role when all else fails. (And it also shows that constant vigilance is required even when apparently adequate oversight mechanisms are in place.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll finish with one other issue that has been nagging away at me for a while: I can\u2019t find a legislative basis for oversight of the activities of the Australian Defence Force\u2019s intelligence units. The IGIS oversees the Defence Intelligence Organisation, and the two collection agencies in the defence portfolio are covered by the Intelligence Services Act. But the ADF intelligence elements aren\u2019t under the command of DIO and, while carrying out their collection function, they could incidentally gather information relating to Australians. For example, ADF intelligence-collection aircraft<\/a> might intercept communications from Australians at sea. And there was at least one past instance of a minister instructing the ADF to collect information about Australians<\/a>\u2014which incidentally provided a good illustration of how the press can help expose infelicities. Perhaps I\u2019ve missed something (comments welcome), but this looks like a loose end needing tidying\u2014perhaps during the forthcoming legislative review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In previous posts I looked at the major structural reforms recommended in the recent intelligence review and at the legislative changes that will be required to implement them. 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