In Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Duncan Lewis AO, DSC, CSC, the recently retired head of ASIO, the conversation turns to the more recent challenge of foreign interference. Duncan has been quoted recently as describing foreign interference as an “existential threat to the nation”, and so Allan begins by asking Duncan to explain how he thinks about foreign interference in Australian politics, and how he would describe its impact. Darren looks to draw some contrasts between how Australia manages the threat of terrorism and how it responds to foreign interference. What is the first line of defence against foreign interference? What are some of the dangers of overreacting to the threat?
The conversation then turns to the new national security and foreign interference laws passed in 2018. Are these laws fit for purpose? What is the balance between the government’s duty to protect, and the individual's right to privacy? What is Duncan’s view of calls for vetting of parliamentary candidates, and is the securitisation of public policy a necessary consequence of dealing with modern threats?
The conversation finishes with the structure of national security policymaking in Australia. Who is the “Minister for National Security”, and what principles should govern decision-making? Finally, what in Duncan’s view are the most important qualities of political leadership?
As always, we invite our listeners to email us at this address: australia.world.pod@gmail.com We welcome feedback, requests and suggestions. You can also contact Darren on twitter @limdarrenj
We want to thank AIIA intern Isabel Hancock for research and audio editing, XC Chong and James Hayne for research support, Rory Stenning for composing our theme music and also Julia Ahrens for technical support in studio.
Ep. 30: Australia’s High Commissioners to Solomon Islands and Samoa discuss diplomacy in the Pacific
Ep. 29: PM Morrison visits the Trump White House; prisoners in Iran; energy security; a visit by Fiji’s PM; climate change
Ep. 28: PM’s trips to Vietnam & the G7; alliance management in the Gulf; Kashmir; PNG
Ep. 27: Clare Walsh, DFAT Deputy Secretary on multilateralism, aid and development
Ep. 26: AUSMIN; Hastie op-ed; HK protests in Australia; Pacific Islands Forum
Ep. 25: David Gruen, Australia’s G20 Sherpa
Ep. 24: Director-General of ASIS in his first ever interview
Ep. 23: Morrison’s Asialink-Bloomberg speech; Lowy Poll; G20
Ep. 22: Hong Kong protests; Shangri-La Dialogue; US-Iran tensions
Ep. 21: Interview with Rebecca Skinner, Associate Secretary at Defence
Ep. 20: Huawei and decoupling; PNG; four elections; new ambassadors; Bob Hawke
Ep. 19: An incoming government brief: What will the election winner face in the new term?
Ep. 18: Terrorism and counter-terrorism in the wake of the Sri Lanka attacks
Ep. 17: Geoeconomics; Australia’s consular operations
Ep. 16: Brexit, more Brexit, & new funding for Australia-China relations
Ep. 15: Towards reinvigorating Australian foreign policy studies (LIVE @ ANU)
Ep. 14: North Korea after Hanoi; India-Pakistan crisis deescalates; Indonesian FTA
Ep. 13: Five eyes and 5G infrastructure; problems for Aussie coal
Ep. 12: What we learned from 2018, looking ahead to 2019
Ep. 11: Dennis Richardson
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