- From: The Australian
- October 18, 2010
PERHAPS they were inspired by the widely published photographs of their boss disporting himself on a beach in his swimming trunks.
More than 50 spies at Britain's MI6 have responded to a recruitment drive by the intelligence agency's Australian counterpart, trying to lure officers from the grey of London to the sunshine of Canberra. According to insiders, the strong interest among middle-ranking officers in jobs at the Australian Secret Intelligence Service reflects a crisis in morale at MI6.
There has been growing uncertainty among the agency's 2600 staff, unsettled by looming budget cuts, inquiries into alleged complicity in the torture of terrorism suspects and moves to keep operatives behind computer screens in London rather than on overseas missions.
The changes are being overseen by MI6 chief John Sawers, who achieved unexpected fame -- and ridicule -- last year when his wife, Shelley, inadvertently breached security by posting pictures of him, wearing swimmers, on Facebook.
The attraction of Australia for Sir John's officers is enhanced by a three-year, Whitehall-wide pay freeze. Forced to retire at 55, insiders say they face limited promotion prospects as executive jobs are cut.
This week's strategic defence and security review will add to the gloom by ending MI6's recent dramatic expansion. In one year recently, its budget, which is not published, is said to have more than doubled.
Although MI6 will escape the brunt of the severe cuts facing most government departments, belt-tightening could spell the end of lavish expense accounts. Sir John wants to phase out the image of the MI6 officer as a globe-trotting James Bond figure who undertakes glamorous missions abroad.
The emphasis at Vauxhall Cross, the agency's headquarters in south London, will shift to promoting computer specialists and other back-office technicians.
Sir John's changes are part of a strategic shift in security policy, replacing Cold War-style undercover spying missions. The agency is now defending Britain's vital computer systems against cyber-attack by terrorists and rogue states.
In contrast to MI6's new austerity, ASIS is seen as bold, brash and expanding. It is understood to have posted an advertisement inside MI6's headquarters for 12 middle-management jobs at its headquarters in Canberra.
British spies are being offered full Australian citizenship while being allowed to keep their nationality, full pension entitlements and receiving a transfer grant to pay for relocation of them and their families.
The current starting salary for a junior spy in Britain is between pound stg. 27,250 ($43,971) and pound stg. 45,277. Australian salaries are generally lower, but the attractions of a sunny climate and a perceived better quality of life are "pull factors" for the thousands who move to Australia each year.
The director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's national security program, Carl Ungerer, yesterday said the links between the Australian agency and MI6 were as old as ASIS itself.
"ASIS was directly modelled on MI6 when it was founded in 1952," he told The Australian
"(ASIS) are as close to the British as perhaps anyone in the world. The fact that some Brits are responding to their recruitment drive doesn't surprise me."
British emigration to Australia has more than doubled in the past decade -- recent figures show it running at nearly 12,000 people a year, excluding those who move to Australia to retire.
British spies are in high demand. Last year, there were anecdotal reports that the CIA in Washington was seeking to headhunt some of its MI6 counterparts.
Historically, MI6 has a long-standing transfer program in which two or three officers join ASIS every year. But the latest move by Australia seems the biggest poaching attempt so far.
The British Foreign Office said: "We do have a good relationship with Australia, including on intelligence matters, but there is no desire to go into any discussion on this."
THE SUNDAY TIMES
Report criticises spies' handling of secrets, as complaints against agencies rise steeply
- From: The Australian
- October 15, 2010
http://www.igis.gov.au/annual_report/index.cfm
http://www.igis.gov.au/annual_report/09-10/docs/IGIS_annual_report_09-10.pdf
AUSTRALIAN spies have been publicly rebuked for handing over top secret information to foreign intelligence services without properly recording the exchanges.
And the number of complaints made about Australia's spy agencies has more than quadrupled in the last year.
The rebuke, contained in the Inspector-General of Intelligence's annual report, finds that “in some instance there is a lack of documentary evidence that the considerations articulated in the policy are being given effect”.
On the spy agency's website it states that: “Liaison with overseas liaison services is an important source of lead intelligence for ASIO, and these relationships must be continually nurtured to ensure the flow of information - information Australia might not otherwise receive.”
But the report finds ASIO must “maintain appropriate records of such decision-making and approvals (to share intelligence)” and warns that “it is the potential gravity of the consequences of passing information to foreign liaisons that means documenting the basis for each decision is of particular importance”.
ASIO liaises with 316 authorities in 122 countries, most of which are foreign security and intelligence services.
The number of complaints made to the Inspector-General's office also rose sharply to 1187 in 2009-10, up from 284 in 2008-09.
The report attributes the rise to a “sharp increase in complaints about the timeliness with which ASIO processes security assessments for persons seeking visas to enter or stay in Australia” reflecting the rise in the number of detainees on Christmas Island.
And the new Inspector-General of Intelligence, Vivienne Thom, also found that Defence Signals Directorate had illegally monitored an Australia citizen after a mistaken direction by ASIO officers.
The rebukes for the spy agency come as the former inspector-general Ian Carnell conducts a review of all Australian spy and intelligence-gathering agencies.
The roles of the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO), the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO), Defence Signals Directorate, (DSD), Office of National Assessments (ONA), Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) are being reviewed by Mr Carnell, who stepped aside after six years service for Dr Thom in April this year.
The $3 million review, announced in May and set to be completed by the end of 2011, had not been “driven by a particular event”, according to the annual report.
The annual report also rejected reports in the media that ASIO officers would be allowed to carry weapons for self-defence, that ASIS officers would be allowed to engage in paramilitary activities and that DSD would be allowed to conduct surveillance on Australian telecommunications networks.
And it found that several intelligence agencies continued to expand, though the rate of growth was slowing.
MI6 officers apply for Canberra spy jobs
- From: The Times
- October 17, 2010
MORE than 50 spies at MI6 have responded to a recruitment drive by the intelligence agency's Australian counterpart.
According to insiders, the strong interest among middle-ranking officers in jobs at the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) reflects a crisis in morale at MI6.
There has been growing uncertainty among the agency's 2600 staff who have been unsettled by looming budget cuts, inquiries into alleged complicity in the torture of terrorism suspects and moves to keep operatives behind computer screens in London rather than sending them on overseas missions.
The changes are being overseen by Sir John Sawers, the MI6 chief, who achieved unexpected fame - and ridicule - last year when his wife Shelley inadvertently breached security by posting pictures of him on Facebook. He was shown wearing Speedos - nicknamed "budgie smugglers" in Australia - on the open section of a Facebook page.
The attraction of Australia for Sawers's officers is enhanced by the contrast with a three-year Whitehall-wide pay freeze. Forced to retire at 55, insiders say they face limited promotion prospects as executive jobs are cut.
This week's strategic defence and security review will add to the gloom by ending MI6's recent dramatic expansion. In one year recently its budget, which is not published, is said to have increased by more than 50 - unprecedented for any government agency.
Although MI6 will escape the brunt of the severe cuts facing most departments, belt-tightening could spell the end of lavish expense accounts.
Sawers wants to phase out the image of the MI6 officer as a globe-trotting James Bond figure who undertakes glamorous missions abroad.
The emphasis at Vauxhall Cross, the agency's headquarters in south London, will shift to promoting computer specialists and other back-office technicians.
Sawers's changes are part of a strategic shift in security policy, replacing cold war-style undercover spying missions. The agency is now defending Britain's vital computer systems against cyber-attack by terrorists and rogue states.
In contrast to MI6's new austerity, the Australian SIS is seen as bold, brash and expanding. It is understood to have posted an advertisement inside MI6's headquarters for 12 middle management jobs at its headquarters in Canberra.
British spies are being offered full Australian citizenship while being allowed to keep their British nationality, full pension entitlements and a transfer grant to pay for them and their families to move.
The current starting salary for a junior spy in Britain is between pounds 27,250 and pounds 45,277, depending on expertise.
Australian salaries are generally lower, but the attractions of a sunny climate and a better quality of life are "pull factors" for the thousands who move there each year.
British emigration to Australia has more than doubled in the past decade. Recent figures show it running at nearly 12,000 people a year, excluding those who move there to retire.
British spies are in high demand. Last year there were anecdotal reports that the CIA in Washington was seeking to headhunt some of its MI6 counterparts.
Historically, MI6 has a long-standing transfer program in which two or three officers join the ASIS every year. But the latest move by Australia seems to be the biggest poaching attempt so far.
Glenmore Trenear-Harvey, an intelligence analyst, said news of the brain drain did not surprise him.
"There are good reasons why there would be an exodus, although it is unusual to see it at this level. There is a pay freeze. But there is also a lot of unhappiness about being associated with the torture allegations," he said.
The spy agency this weekend declined to comment on the exodus.
The Foreign Office said: "We do have a good relationship with Australia, including on intelligence matters, but there is no desire to go into any discussion on this."
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