Opening address AIC Induction Course
Director-General of Security Paul O'Sullivan
6 February 2007
Welcome to ASIO.
It is a pleasure for me to be here this morning to open the first Australian Intelligence Community induction course for 2007.
It also gives me an opportunity to share with you a few of my thoughts on why courses such as this are important.
Let me start by quoting the Prime Minister who has said that Australia's intelligence agencies play a crucial role in informing the government about developments overseas and in Australia that affect Australia's national security and international interests. They are the front line in the fight against terrorism.
Indeed the centrality and importance of the role played by the Australian Intelligence Community has been increasing in recent years and is likely to continue to grow in importance into the future.
That places a very real responsibility on everyone in the intelligence community from the heads of agencies; through the ranks of senior, middle and front-line managers; to the newest, most junior member of staff.
Increasingly, if they are to be fully effective, the agencies that make up the Australian Intelligence Community must work cooperatively and collaboratively to provide the highest levels of service to the government and the people of Australia.
While each agency has specific capabilities and differing individual points of focus and responsibilities, when it comes to the fight against terrorism it is the synergies between us and how well that we are able to leverage off each other's strengths that really matter.
That doesn't mean that we will always get things right or that we will always be in a position to prevent harm, but it does mean that there should be no avoidable errors or failures brought about by a lack of diligence or professionalism in working with others.
In his review of the Australian intelligence agencies in 2004, Philip Flood said that good intelligence is arguably more important to government now than at any time since World War II.
Mr Flood identified a number of ways in which the effectiveness of the Australian Intelligence Community could be improved, including through the introduction of cross-community training which would help staff in the various agencies better understand the wider system to which they contribute.
It was that recommendation which was the genesis of this course which has been running since 2005 and which was the first fully coordinated cross-community course to be run on a regular basis.
This course has been run on a monthly basis with 18 courses delivered since May 2005 to 530 officers drawn from across the Australian Intelligence Community.
Since then, a cross-community senior officer course also has been developed and delivered on two occasions to 51 people.
These courses offer a number of opportunities and a range of benefits.
Certainly the content that is delivered through the various presentations on this course is an important means of communicating information about the agencies, for building understanding and for sweeping away some myths and any misconceptions people may have.
Just as important is the opportunity that spending three days on a course such as this offers to get to know people in the other agencies, to put a human dimension to what might otherwise seem to new comers like an impenetrable bureaucracy surrounded by secrecy and folklore.
In terms of the formal dimension to the course, over the next three days you will hear presentations from representatives of the six intelligence agencies.
These presenters will provide you with an interesting and authoritative account of their agency.
You also will hear from other departments such as the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the Protective Security Coordination Centre and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.
I am told that the feedback received from course participants so far has been excellent and very constructive and that it has been used to help refine and to improve the course.
I would encourage all of you to provide constructive feedback that could help to improve the course even further.
When I took on the role of Director-General of Security in July 2005 it was not my first encounter with the intelligence world.
I had been a long-time user of intelligence throughout my career with the DFAT, ONA and as a senior adviser to the Prime Minister so I had a good feel for what is required by customers at the highest level of government and in the wider bureaucracy.
At the most fundamental level, intelligence is only useful if it builds knowledge or understanding in ways that can be applied to real problems and which is not otherwise available in the public domain.
The usefulness of the intelligence produced by the Australian Intelligence Community – as indeed with any intelligence agency around the world – is dependant on its quality and its relevance to real situations and real problems.
As Philip Flood noted, good intelligence must be ‘soundly based, analytical and predictive. It should seek to create new knowledge rather than rehash what is already known. It must be free of political influence, of bias, of untested assumptions, and of the intent to influence policy.'
In the security environment we inhabit, there is an expectation by government that intelligence agencies will work together well, that all available information is taken into account, and that the full capabilities available within the Australian system are fully utilised to produce the highest quality intelligence.
While there have always been good working relationships across the Australian Intelligence Community, over the last several years there has been considerable strengthening and deepening of those relationships directed towards a shared goal of being fully effective and the prevention of harm to Australia and its interests.
Agencies are much better connected and looking for new and better ways to work together.
Seconded officers are spread throughout the Community.
A great deal of information is shared within and outside the Community.
We engage in joint activity when that is useful and appropriate.
A more recent development has been the greater engagement with key elements of the private sector directed at protecting Australia from harm.
ASIO's Business Liaison Unit was set up in late 2005 and established a web presence in July 2006 to provide security information to owners and operators of critical infrastructure and other members of the business community to help inform their own risk management processes and decisions.
While it is located and managed within ASIO, the Business Liaison Unit is in fact a window into the entire Australian Intelligence Community for the private sector.
Another development that continues to have an impact on the way in which we work has been the escalation of the level of media interest and commentary on intelligence matters.
Traditionally, intelligence professional's natural preference had been to work out of the glare of the media spotlight.
Most of the agencies represented here today have received, and will continue to receive, media attention at some time simply because the intelligence world is inherently of interest.
As a community we need to protect our capabilities, methods of investigation and operations if we are to remain effective.
That means that our successes are rarely heralded.
Nonetheless, we cannot ignore the interest of the media or its role and influence in shaping community perceptions about the intelligence community.
That is why we need to have senior people make public statements from time to time with a view to building and maintaining the trust and confidence of the Australian community.
Perhaps the most important instrument that we have for providing independent assurance to the Parliament and to the community that the intelligence agencies are acting lawfully in the national interest is the formal accountability regime that now spans all the intelligence agencies.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has an important role to play and takes its responsibilities very seriously.
In 2006 it tabled two reports covering its Review of Administration and Expenditure: Australian Intelligence Organisations Number 4 Recruitment and Training as well as its Review of the re-listing of al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiyah as terrorist organisations.
These reviews are available on the Committee's website and I would encourage you to read them as they give useful insights into the Committee's approach and role within the broader oversight regime that is in place.
I also would encourage you to read the 2005-06 annual report by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. That report clearly illustrates the rigour and thoroughness with which Ian Carnell and his staff approach the task of oversighting the work of the agencies and investigating matters that are referred to him as complaints or otherwise.
It is a very pleasing result for the Community that Mr Carnell could state again this year that ‘intelligence and security agencies continue to be focused on achieving the objectives set for them by the Parliament and the Government, responsive to Ministerial direction, aware of the limits of their authority, and concerned to conduct their business in a professional manner'.
But I would caution that this state of affairs is not one that can or should be taken for granted. It is incumbent on everyone who works in the intelligence community to approach everything they do with a level of professionalism and intellectual rigour that can withstand the most searching review.
This requirement for rigour and professionalism is all the more necessary because of what is at stake if we get things wrong.
Everyone in this room should be aware that Australia continues to face some very real and very persistent threats to our security.
Australians have been killed, injured or otherwise caught up in terrorist attacks around the world.
Many will have seen Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller's comments reported in the media in November 2006.
British authorities are dealing with over 200 networks or groupings consisting of over 1600 individuals who are actively engaged in plotting or facilitating terrorist attacks in the UK or abroad.
Against the background of the British experience of the bombings in London in July 2005 and the aviation plot in August 2006 and events elsewhere around the world, it is apparent that the speed and ease with which an attack can be conceived, planned and (in the case of the UK last year) implemented means that any assessment may be valid at a point in time but that things can change very quickly.
The Government has repeatedly described the fight against terrorism as intelligence-led.
While this does not mean that there is an expectation that agencies will be omniscient – that there will always be prior intelligence warning of a particular threat – it does mean that there is an expectation that we will be vigilant in watching for the emergence of new threats and strong in taking action to counter these threats.
It also means that all of our work is highly relevant to the Government.
The trust that we enjoy from the Government and generally across the political spectrum and the wider community is not static and is something that must be earned on a continuous basis.
It is therefore imperative that we continue to maintain the high standards of transparency and accountability that already exist and use the powers granted to us under legislation appropriately and in strict conformance with the law.
Let me conclude by stating that individually and collectively we are part of a very capable intelligence community whose role has never been more important than what it is today.
The challenges we face and the responsibilities we carry should not be underestimated, nor should they be undervalued.
The people who work in the Australian Intelligence Community must go through rigorous selection processes that are intended to ensure only those with the ability and commitment to serve their country well are entrusted with this important work.
I encourage you to participate fully in this course over the next few days; to learn about the work of each agency and develop a better understanding of the whole; to build relationships with your colleagues and peers across the Community; and to return to your workplace with renewed vigour and commitment.
It is an interesting and challenging time to be working in intelligence.
Thank you.