The public release of secret intelligence can have a powerful impact on the political environment, as the revelations regarding Sam Dastyari demonstrate.
The move to consolidate security agencies under one minister upends generations of conventions on how security intelligence and executive police powers are managed separately.
Turnbull is understandably sensitive to suggestions that the planned home affairs ministry is all about Dutton, whose continued support is so vital to him.
Radical Islamists will never overthrow Western democracies. What we’re talking about is the effect the terrorist threat has on our wellbeing as a multicultural society, and on our politics.
Politics podcast: John Blaxland on handling Islamist terrorism
Events in Britain, the New South Wales coroner's report on the Lindt Cafe siege, and a new attack in Australia have given a much sharper edge to the debate about how to handle Islamist terrorism.
In an uncertain world, we have to accept and deal with modest dangers for the sake of the wider good, which includes fulfilling the obligations of a rich and privileged country.
In the third volume of The Official History of ASIO series, historians Dr John Blaxland and Dr Rhys Crawley examine the organisation's role in the years leading to the end of the Cold War.
The federal government’s review of intelligence agencies is important not just for our understanding of their function, but also for a more open public debate about spying and security.
Until a public interest exemption is included in Section 35P, the offence will continue to impact press freedom and have a chilling effect on media organisations’ ability to report on ASIO’s activities.
Frank Moorhouse is known primarily – but not exclusively – for his award-winning fiction such as the Edith Triology. In more recent times, he has turned his considerable talents to the role of the Australian…
Earlier this week, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released its report on the CIA’s post-9/11 program of detaining and interrogating suspected terrorists during the Bush administration…