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‘AFP boss says alleged leaker of Ben Roberts-Smith arrest should ‘face consequences’
Sarah Basford Canales
The federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, says she is determined to find out how the media knew of Ben Roberts-Smith’s arrest ahead of time and says the alleged leaker should “face consequences”.
Earlier this week, the federal government’s special investigator for war crimes allegations and the Australian federal police told a Senate estimates hearing they have asked the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) to investigate media leaks. As of Tuesday, the Nacc had yet to respond to the request.
Arrested at Sydney airport on 7 April, Roberts-Smith faces five charges of war crime murder over allegations he killed unarmed civilians during his service with the Australian SAS in Afghanistan.
The former SAS corporal has vehemently denied the charges, saying “I categorically deny all of these allegations”.
At a Senate estimates hearing last night, the AFP boss said she had no evidence someone in her organisation had shared details of the imminent arrest with journalists but referred it to the Nacc “out of an abundance of caution”.
Barrett said one media outlet was at the airport when Roberts-Smith was arrested and she was “determined to find out how they knew of the arrest”.
Barrett said:
If the date of the individual’s arrest or other sensitive information was disclosed to anyone in the media, this could be an unauthorised disclosure, and in my view, anyone who disclosed that information should face consequences.
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Guardian Australia’s Full Story team took home two awards at the inaugural Australian Audio Awards held at Carriageworks in Sydney last night.
Full Story won the award for best news and current affairs podcast – major, while Gina: Power, privilege and influence took out the award for best investigative journalism podcast – major.
Full Story is a daily news podcast where Guardian journalists take listeners behind the headlines. Gina: Power, privilege and influence was an investigative series about the life and influence of Australia’s wealthiest person, Gina Rinehart.
The special podcast series Gina won best investigative journalism podacst.
There are flood warnings around after some wild weather and downpours in several states.
This morning the NSW SES issued a warning for parts of the Upper Hunter, forecasting heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding.
And Tasmania SES has issued a flood warning for Royal George, Avoca and surrounding low-lying areas, saying people in low-lying areas should monitor conditions and prepare to move to safety if conditions get worse.
We’ll bring you any updates on the situation as the day unfolds.
Asio warns MPs, public servants over secrecy in internet-connected cars
Asio has warned politicians and public servants not to discuss sensitive government information in internet-connected cars, due to the risk of electronic eavesdropping.
The country’s top spy agency said discussing classified or sensitive information outside the workplace was always a risk, especially in vehicles which send realtime information back to the manufacturer.
Deputy director general Lisa Alonso Love told a budget estimates hearing last night the warning, communicated to government amid a surge in demand for electric vehicles, was not specific about country of origin or carmaker.
“Obviously, a connected car may have other vectors to gather that information but those conversations should only ever happen in places that are set up for classified conversations,” she said.
“People should be conscious of the things that they are discussing in vehicles, knowing that people may be able to get that information.”
Australia’s spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, has already published advice about the risks posed by connected vehicles.
