 |
Joan Coxsedge, Ken Coldicutt, and Gerry Harant Published: 1982 |
This book remains the clearest history of Australia’s agencies, treaties and US bases.
It explains our role in the Five Eyes, the mass surveillance and intelligence sharing alliance between the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
And it asks big questions, such as why secret structures flourish both in overtly totalitarian as well as democratic countries.
The authors, all leaders in the Committee for the Abolition of Political Police (CAPP) and active within the ALP, concede that some clandestine elements of government are necessary, but warn that the size and importance of secret organisations is escalating dangerously.
The book is funny at times, describing the street theatre stunts of CAPP and other clever forms of resistance to spooks, and is unapologetic in its polemical style. It reproduces many primary documents alongside analysis of key events in the US-Australian relationship.
This includes the events surrounding the dismissal of Whitlam, as well as analysis of the three-year Hope commission (appointed by Whitlam to thoroughly review Australia’s intelligence agencies). Crucially, the book also explains the D-Notice system that gags Australia’s press from reporting on certain subjects that endures to this day.
No comments:
Post a Comment