Toohey - Secret: the making of Australias security state

Brian Tooheys book is a deeply troubling history of the Australian governments love affair with secrecy and state power. We present ourselves as one of the worlds great liberal democracies, yet Tooheys research shows that our security agencies have so many of the powers that our governments rightly condemn authoritarian dictatorships for. This book should serve as a wakeup call for anybody who cares about the fundamental principles of human rights, transparency and accountability in Australia.

Peter Greste

Brian Toohey brings half a century of reporting on national security issues to the task of framing our modern discussionpowerfully documenting the layers upon layers of apparently small, incremental policy changes that have led us to where we are today: an often fearful nation that has given away many of its citizens rights.

Laura Tingle

As the recent AFP raids on national newspapers demonstrate all too clearly, an obsessive over-reach by politicians and bureaucrats in their definitions of national security denies the Australian public its right to hold intelligence agencies accountable for lack of intelligence. Brian Tooheys rambunctious account of 70 years of cock up and cover up illustrates how unnecessary much secrecy is, how it conduces to foreign policy failures and feeds political paranoiaa problem today when our traditional allies are discombobulatedthe US by the unpredictability of Trump and whilst the UK is constipated by Brexit. Some secrets must be kept whilst others should be exposed: the recent avalanche of anti-terrorism legislation fails to make the distinction.

Geoffrey Robertson

Tooheys insights into this new age of surveillance are scary (but its a book that demands to be read).

Kerry OBrien

THE MAKING
OF AUSTRALIAS
SECURITY STATE

BRIAN TOOHEY

MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRESS

An imprint of Melbourne University Publishing Limited

Level 1, 715 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia

www.mup.com.au

First published 2019

Text Brian Toohey, 2019

Design and typography Melbourne University Publishing Limited, 2019

This book is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means or process whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publishers.

Every attempt has been made to locate the copyright holders for material quoted in this book. Any person or organisation that may have been overlooked or misattributed may contact the publisher.

Typeset in 11/13.5 pt Bembo by Cannon Typesetting

Cover design by Phil Campbell Design

Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group

9780522872804 (paperback)

9780522872828 (ebook)

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