Since the publication of my essay on the prosecution of former spy Witness K and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery, for revealing allegations that Australia spied on the Timorese during maritime boundary negotiations in 2004, the Australian Labor Party has condemned the bugging operation and the prosecutions.
In an interview with Crikey in August, Labor leader Anthony Albanese said, “What happened in East Timor was wrong. It should never have happened.” He was “very concerned about transparency in this case – the idea that there should be a prosecution of a whistle-blower, for what’s a shameful part of Australia’s history, is simply wrong”. When it was put to Albanese that his comments were the most forthright on the bugging issue from Labor, he said, “Well, you should have asked me before.”
