Prosecutions 2019

Hearings

Media Coverage

January 2019

Witness K case: prosecutors dump brief of evidence on last working day of legal year
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 9 January 2019

Our intelligence agencies are out of control – an edited repost
John Menadue – Pearls and Irritations – 17 January 2019

February 2019

Secret Trials: The illegal bugging of the Timor Leste Cabinet and the extraordinary prosecution of Bernard Collaery and Witness K
Ernst Willheim – 7 February 2019
Australians reading about secret trials in foreign countries tend to content themselves in the belief that in Australia we have an open court system and an independent judiciary. After all, freedom of speech, the rule of law and an open and independent court system are basic bulwarks of our democracy. Aren’t they? This brief paper challenges that comfortable assumption.

East Timor spy scandal: Jury could hear Collaery, Witness K case
Alexandra Back – The Canberra Times – 28 February, 2019
An account of the secret hearing on 28 February, which signalled another secret hearing in August.

March 2019

How the Witness K/Collaery case is being delayed into oblivion
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 25 March 2019    Here is a pdf.
How the major Australian political manipulation of law and justice, and how we are all being duped.

Former judge says delays in Witness K case an ‘abandonment’ of open and fair justice
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 27 March 2019
Anthony Whealy says the attorney general must explain secrecy and delays in case stemming from Timor-Leste bugging. “If the material is so significant a danger to national security if disclosed, then the result should be that the proceedings are abandoned,”  Judge Whealy said.

April 2019

Kafka in Australia: the trial of Witness K
Susan Connelly – Eureka Street –6 April 2019

A Disturbing Book Launch
Report of Launch of Professor Clinton Fernandes’ book “Island Off the Coast of Asia”
Launched by Bernard Collaery at Monte St Angelo, North Sydney 13 April 2019

Australia accused of ‘siphoning’ millions in Timor-Leste oil revenue
Helen Davidson – The Guardian – 16 April 2019

All about the oil: a history of Australia’s relationship with Timor-Leste
Kishor Napier-Raman – Crikey – 17 April 2019    Here’s a pdf.
Australia views itself as Timor-Leste’s liberator. But the reality is that Timor-Leste has suffered for decades because of Australia’s pursuit of oil revenue above all else.

Bernard’s Bugbears
Richard Ackland  – Gadfly: The Saturday Paper –  20 April 2019   Here’s a pdf.

Australia will pay back Timor-Leste’s oil revenue, Jose Ramos-Horta says.
Helen Davidson – The Guardian – 21 April 2019
Former president says he has faith his country’s far richer neighbour will not quarrel over revenue it wrongly received.

May 2019

We prosecute whistleblowers who expose government misconduct
Paul Gregoire – The Big Smoke – 8 May 2019

How the Witness K/Collaery case is being delayed into oblivion
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 25 May 2019
Inordinate delays mean justice is being denied.

ABC missing in action on Witness K and Bernard Collaery persecution
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 30 May 2019

June 2019

The AFP media raids aim to suppress the truth. Without it we head into the heart of darkness
Richard Flanagan – The Guardian – 5 June 2019

Bernard Collaery on ABC radio with Linda Mottram
ABC  –
5 June 2019

Witness K lawyer says raids on media show Australia becoming ‘oppressive democracy’
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 5 June 2019

Whistleblower protections ‘a sham’, says lawyer whose leaks led to ABC raids
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 6 June 2019

Shooting the Messengers
Hamish McDonald – Inside Story – 6 June 2019

The raid on the ABC shows we need a law to protect journalists and their sources
Peter Greste – The Guardian – 6 June 2019
Parliament has passed a slew of national security laws that limit and even criminalise the fundamental work of the press.

Federal senator lashes attempt to shut down media and whistleblowers
Senator Rex Patrick – Sydney Morning Herald – 9 June 2019

Timor debt ‘could open door to China navy’
Ben Packham – The Australian – 25 June 2019

July 2019

Timor spying
Juanite Phillips, Greg Jennett, Emma Alberici
Media Watch – ABC – 2 July 2018

Lawyer and witness face charges under spy laws, raising questions of openness and accountability
Professor Clinton Fernandes – ADFA – 2 July 2018
As lawyer Bernard Collaery and his client face criminal charges regarding the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, there are many more questions to be answered in this case.

Bernard Collaery and Witness K ‘heroes’: Greens Senator Nick McKim
Kirsten Lawson, Alexandra Back – The Canberra Times – 16 July 2019

Attorney-General not rethinking spy case
Marnie Banger – AAP – 24 July 2019

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbour’s Continental Shelf: Australia’s Timor Sea Maritime Boundary
Vivian Louise Forbes – Future Directions International – 25 Jul 2019
Ms Forbes believes that the Government of Australia was pressured to forfeit its ‘seabed rights’ in the name of ‘equitable principles’ and ‘social justice’, regardless of the fact that geographical reality and the ‘special circumstances of the case’ that are perceived to apply in this instance were totally disregarded. That said, Australia had apparently nailed itself into the “coffin-shaped” Timor Gap Treaty’s Zone of Co-operation over the continental shelf issue in 1989 and again on 14 March 1997, when it signed in Perth an Agreement with Indonesia relating to certain maritime boundaries. Finally, successive governments were persuaded, even pressured, to accede to demands from Timor-Leste for a larger proportion of Australia’s continental shelf and access to the hydrocarbon reserves contained therein, in agreements during 2002, 2006, 2013 and 2018. (Report has to be downloaded.)

How Australia trashed its legacy in Timor-Leste
Sophie Raynor – Crikey – 26 July 2019
It’s almost 20 years since Australia led peacekeepers into the country but our true relationship is one threaded with manipulation, deception, bullying and greed.

National security being used to stifle public interest journalism, former judges warn
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 27 July 2019
The newly-formed Centre for Public Integrity has brought together a powerful collection of former judges, lawyers, and integrity experts to push for a strong federal anti-corruption body, champion donations and lobbying reform, and protect Australia’s various accountability institutions, including the media.

Establishing Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea
Prime Minister’s Press Release – 29 July 2019   Find pdf here.
This would have to be one of the most outstanding examples of government hubris that anyone could have the misfortune to read.

Witness K, Bernard Collaery could have hearings split, court hears
Alexandra Back – The Canberra Times – 30 July 2019   Pdf here.
The case of a former spy and his lawyer who exposed an Australian bugging operation against the tiny nation of East Timor could be split and heard in two separate jurisdictions, a court has heard.

Our country is a better place because of journalists and whistleblowers: Andrew Wilkie MP
Talk given by Andrew Wilkie – 30 July 2019 – Radioinfo.com.au
In 2003 Andrew Wilkie resigned his position at ONA so that he could speak out about his view that Sadam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction…. He lost his job and “became unemployable in Canberra.” After receiving death threats, having his reputation trashed, losing his marriage, being dropped by friends, and many other consequences as a result of speaking the truth, eventually Wilkie was elected as an independent member of parliament. He spoke about his experiences and the importance of free media.

Australia approves treaty with East Timor over gas royalties
Rod McGurk 30 July 2019

Australia has pocketed millions in revenue from Timor Sea oil and gas projects
Anne Barker, Charlie Scheiner – ABC Radio – 30 July 2019

Is ASIS feeling unloved?
Stephen Easton – The Mandarin – 30 July 2019
Asked why the public should accept foreign spies didn’t break the law or act contrary to Australian “values” the head of ASIS says the question of public confidence is “really important” to him.

Timor-Leste and Australia have little to celebrate if Witness K and Bernard Collaery are not free
José Ramos-Horta – 31 Jul 2019
The trial of the former ASIS spy and his lawyer undermines the already complicated relationship between two neighbours, writes Timor-Leste’s former president. He calls on the Timorese President to bestow the Order of Timor-Leste on Witness K and Bernard Collaery.

August 2019

Witness K’s endless trial
Geraldine DoogueSaturday Extra – 3 August 2019
Clinton Fernandes, Professor of International and Political Studies at UNSW Canberra
Senator Rex Patrick, Centre Alliance senator for South Australia.
In 2012 an intelligence officer known as ‘Witness K’ revealed the covert spy operation to bug the offices of Timor Leste’s government. Now he and his lawyer face prosecution. It’s a case many in the legal, political and academic professions feel deeply uneasy about.

Timor Sea Justice Forum Media Release
5 August 2019

Witness K to plead guilty in Timor-Leste spying case, but co-accused to fight charges
Radio National Drive – 6 August 2019
Professor Clinton Fernandes explains the implications of the hearing.

Witness K to plead guilty as lawyer Bernard Collaery committed to stand trial
Alexandra Back – Canberra Times – 6 August 2019

It is a national disgrace to see Witness K treated like this
Crikey – 6 August 2019
From Witness K’s lawyer: ‘Let us be under no misapprehension. Mighty forces are at play here to hide dirty political linen.’

Witness K to plead guilty to breaching intelligence act as lawyer Bernard Collaery committed to trial
ABC News – 6 August 2019

We Accuse. We Applaud
Timor Sea Justice Forum  6 August 2019

The big question that has gone unanswered in the Witness K saga
Madeleine Miller – Crikey – 7 August 2019
Did our government break the law in the 2004 bugging incident? Australians deserve to know.

Witness K and Collaery’s influence to be felt in Timor Leste
Sally Whyte – The Canberra Times – 7 August 2019
“It’s very instructive that the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition are going to Timor Leste to celebrate a renewal of bilateral relations and the two people most responsible for the renegotiation of the treaty are in fact Witness K and Collaery, who are facing legal sanction,” Professor Fernandes said.

Australia’s shame: Witness K punished for his service, while the guilty go free
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 7 August 2019
After years of relentless pressure, Witness K has pleaded guilty to revealing information about ASIS’ criminal conduct in Timor Leste. It is a shameful reward for a man who diligently served his country.

Dutton’s dark police state creep
Michelle Pini – Independent Australia- 8 August 2019
Australian democracy has finally, painfully, reached its nadir

Visit Timor-Leste

Juice Media – 10 August 2019 – Teachers’ /PG Version   Superb 9 minute visual of all the issues.

Witness K and the ‘outrageous’ spy scandal that failed to shame Australia
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian –  10 August 2019
Very good background to the issue.   Pdf here.

Witness K and the “outrageous” spy scandal that failed to shame Australia
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 10 August 2019

Security
Richard Ackland – The Saturday Paper, Gadfly – 10 August 2019
Leading the charge in the Collaery–Witness K protests is Susan Connelly of the Josephite Sisters. She rallies the troops outside the court and with ceaseless missives from her bunker in Lakemba.
“J’accuse.” Where’s Émile Zola when you need him?

From Richard Boyle and Witness K to media raids: it’s time whistleblowers had better protection
A.J. Brown – The Conversation – 13 August 2019
Australia becoming a “police state” amid efforts to silence whistleblowers

Bec Strating on the State of Australia-Timor Leste Ties
Prashanth Parameswaran – The Diplomat – 13 August 2019
A conversation on the past, present, and future dynamics in Australia’s relationship with Timor-Leste.


Casually threatening letter exposes bureaucrats’ deep-seated contempt for media
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 14 August 2019
Don’t be surprised that the Attorney-General’s Department is threatening media outlets; its loathing for media freedom goes back a long way.

Timor-Leste, 20 years on
Mica Bareto Soares – The Lowy Institute Interpreter – 16 August 2019   Find pdf here.

The Hon. Christian Porter MP – 19 August 2019 – Media Statement  (Pdf 547 kb)
Mr Porter states his views on Witness K and Bernard Collaery in a series of nine questions and answers.
I put this media Statement on this site on 03 December 2020 as I had a copy. I searched today using this link but could only find 4 Media Statements for August 2019, and this one is not among them. (S. Connelly)

Collaery battles on, but who cares?
Robert Macklin – Canberra City News – 20 August 2019

Trumped Up: Wiki cables show Australia thinks Iran is not the aggressor
Clinton Fernandes – Michael West.com – 23 August 2019

Xanana Gusmao offers to give evidence that could embarrass Australia in Witness K trial
ABC – 25 August 2019

Former attorney-general George Brandis had ‘misgivings’ about prosecuting Witness K and Collaery
Steve Cannane and Peter Cronau – ABC Four Corners – 26 August 2019

Secrets, spies and trials: national security vs the public’s right to know
Steve Cannane and Peter Cronau – ABC Four Corners TRAILER – 26 August 2019

This immoral act against a decent man diminishes all who pursue it
Chris Uhlmann – Sydney Morning Herald – 27 August 2019

Twenty years after independence, Timor-Leste continues its epic struggle
Sarah Niner – The Conversation  – 28 August 2019

The saga of Bernard Collaery and Witness K continues
Ernst Willheim – Pearls and Irritations – 28 August 2019
“If you watched the program [ABC 4-Corners] you will already know this is a talk about some shameful events in Australia’s recent history. And I very much fear the shameful saga is about to continue. It is about Australian commercial espionage.”

What Four Corners left out of the Witness K story
Clinton Fernandes – Crikey – 28 August 2019
Four Corners got the facts straight on how the Witness K scandal was born, but there is more to the story.

After a border dispute and spying scandal, can Australia and Timor-Leste be good neighbours?
Michael Leach – The Conversation – 28 August 2019

Morrison flies into a storm in East Timor over Witness K prosecution
James Massola – The Sydney Morning Herald – 28 August 2019

US knew Indonesia intended to stop East Timorese independence ‘through terror and violence’
Documents reveal ‘muted’ attempts to convince Indonesian officials to allow free vote to proceed
Helen Davidson – The Guardian ­ – 29 August 2019   Click here for pdf.

Secret whistleblower trial will only add to Australia’s shame over spying cover-up
Anthony Whealy – Sydney Morning Herald – August 29, 2019

Witness K lawyer alleges ‘extraordinary unexplained roadblock’ in funding his case
Paul Karp – The Guardian – 29 August 2019

Declassified intelligence documents shed light on 1999 Timor Leste independence
Anne Barker  – ABC News –  29 August 2019
Newly published intelligence documents, declassified by the US, shed new light on the turbulent events surrounding the 1999 independence referendum in Timor Leste, when Indonesian-backed militia gangs went on a murderous rampage across the country.  Read pdf here.

“Infuriated” Alexander Downer tried to get US officials to mask Australian inaction on East Timor
Declassified documents show the then foreign affairs minister was angered by leaks showing Australia rejected US request for peacekeepers
Helen Davidson –The Guardian – 30 August 2019   Click here for pdf.

Jose Ramos-Horta urges Australia to drop Witness K, whistleblower charges
SBS  – 30 August 2019
Timor-Leste had moved on since the spying scandal and so should Australia by dropping charges against the whistleblowers who exposed it, says Jose Ramos Horta.

Australia spied, cheated and has now lost its moral compass
Dr Richie Gun – Civil Liberties Australia – 30 August 2019

PM rules out East Timor gas compensation
AAP Channel 9 – 30 August 2019

Australia cast itself as the hero of East Timor. But it was US military might that got troops in
Paul Daley – The Guardian – 30 August 2019

Timor-Leste independence and press freedom
Paul Bongiorno – The Saturday Paper – 31 August 2019   Click here for pdf.

Letter to the Editor
Nicholas Cowdery –The Sydney Morning Herald – 31 August 2019

September 2019

Timor Leste and Australia: a loveless affair at twenty
Binoy Kampmark – Dissident Voice – 1 September 2019

China Eyes Stake in Southeast Asia’s Newest Oil Frontier
Tsvetana Paraskova – Oilprice.com – 1 September 2019

Australian Lawyers’ Association says charges against ACT A-G must be dropped as tensions build
Naomi Neilson – Lawyers Weekly – 2 September 2019

Timor-Leste’s future still shadowed by the past
History and heroes hold the spotlight, 20 years after the country voted for its freedom.
Includes How Australia Crossed a Line in the Timor Sea.
Sophie Raynor – The Lowy Institute – 2 September 2019

Stop punishing Witness K for telling the truth on Timor
Editorial – Sydney Morning Herald – 3 September 2019

Australia confronts past with East Timor
Greg Roberts – AAP Channel 7 – 3 September 2019

Drop the Collaery Prosecution: An Interview With Australian Lawyers Alliance’s Greg Barnes
Paul Gregoire – Sydney Criminal Lawyers – 5 September 2019

Australia’s true relationship with Timor-Leste
Sophie Raynor –Eureka Street – 9 September 2019

Crossbench senator pushes to fix ‘shameful’ historic wrong against Timor-Leste
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 9 September 2019
Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick wants to overturn the decisions that limit Australia’s exposure to international courts.

East Timor bugging cases return to court
Finbar O’Mallon – AAP – 26 September 2019

The Witness K case and government secrecy
Clinton Fernandes – The Saturday Paper – Sept 28/Oct 4, 2019

October 2019

Someone blew the whistle on Trump – if it happened in Australia we might never hear about it
Ben Oquist – The Guardian – 1 October 2019
Instead of whistleblowing protections or powerful intelligence committees Australia has raids on journalists.

Australia’s quest for national security is undermining the courts and could lead to secretive trials
Kieran Hardy – The Conversation  – 2 October 2019  Here is a pdf.

Timor-Leste’s gas dreams fade
Hamish McDonald – The Saturday Paper – 3-9 October 2020
Timor-Leste’s plans for developing its oil and gas industry, made possible after winning back control of offshore fields from Australia, have stalled as the coronavirus pandemic drives down prices and the country’s new leadership questions the scheme’s economic rationale. Read this as pdf.

Witness K and Bernard Collaery: An Unjust Prosecution Gets Even Worse
Spencer Zifcak – Pearls and Irritations – 12 October 2020
The prosecution of former ACT Attorney-General, Bernard Collaery, and his client, Witness K, continues to play itself out before the ACT Supreme Court. This is a legal fiasco of the first order. The prosecution should never have commenced. Pdf.

Secrecy in trial of Witness K lawyer Bernard Collaery an offence against open justice
Peak law body says secrecy laws invoked in Timor-Leste bugging case come at ‘expense of the rights of the accused’
Christopher Knaus – The Guardian – 16 October 2020   Pdf.

Law Council President, Pauline Wright, support to Bernard Collaery
Media Statement – Pauline Wright – 16 October 2020  Pdf here.

Balibo forty-five years on – and it still stinks of cover-up and collusion
Today marks 45 years since five Australian journalists were murdered in East Timor. Yet questions about who knew what and when still remain.
Clinton Fernandes – Crikey – 16 October 2020   Pdf here.

Too many lies and cover-ups
Ian Melrose – The Canberra Times – 16 October 2020  (Pdf.)

Forty-five years on, secrets of the Balibo atrocity haunt Australia
Susan Connelly – Sydney Morning Herald – 16 October 2020   Find pdf here.

‘Chilling attack on democracy’: proposed Asio powers could be used against journalists
Daniel Hurst – The Guardian – 20 October 2020

Two High Court of Australia judges will be named soon – unlike Amy Coney Barrett, we know nothing about them
Joe McIntyre – The Conversation – 20 October 2020.  Find pdf here.

Rex Patrick takes aim at Alexander Downer over foreign consultant job
Shannon Jenkins – The Mandarin – 22 October 2020.  Pdf here.

Bernard Collaery and Witness K trial costs revealed in budget estimates   (Pdf)
Katie Burgess – The Canberra Times – 22 October 2020
The Coalition government has spent more than $3 million prosecuting Bernard Collaery and Witness K, as officials reject claims the lawyer and whistleblower have been subjected to a secret trial. Here is a pdf.

The Witness K Case: when prosecution becomes persecution
Warren Reed – Online Opinion – 28 October 2020   Pdf.

Dan Oakes, Witness K and Bernard Collaery
Ian Cunliffe – Pearls and Irritations – 23 October 2020
Dear Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, please demonstrate that the decisions whether or not to prosecute, and the decisions to continue the prosecutions of Collaery and K, are not influenced by possible political advantage, disadvantage or embarrassment to the Government.  Please apply the Prosecution Policy to the facts in front of you, uninfluenced by what Porter and the Government so obviously want.  Do your lawful duty!  Drop the prosecutions!   (Find pdf here.)

November 2019

A Clayton’s Integrity Commission?
Ian Cunliffe – Pearls and Irritations –  4 November 2020   Here’s a pdf.

Woodside leaves oil rig for taxpayers to clean up; is Exxon next in the Bass Strait?
Callum Foote – Michael West Media – 4 November 2020
Taxpayers are on the hook for the $200 million-plus clean-up of an ageing oil production platform moored in the Timor Sea partly because of a loophole in government regulations    Pdf here.

Prosecutors agreed not to press for Witness K custodial sentence, barrister says
Cassandra Morgan – The Canberra Times – 9 November 2020
Lawyers for the ex-spy Witness K say he agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge on grounds prosecutors wouldn’t press for him to be jailed. Barrister Robert Richter QC represented Witness K via audio-visual link in the ACT Magistrates Courts on Monday. The ex-spy has indicated he will admit to conspiring to breach s39 of the Intelligence Services Act, which makes punishable the revealing of information of any kind about the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. But Mr Richter said Witness K did so in the context of an agreement with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Here is a pdf of the article

Nationwide protests against secret trial of Bernard Collaery and Witness K
Jim McIlroy and Alex Salmon – Green Left Weekly – 9 November 2020   Pdf here.

The minister in charge of integrity has just lost a lot of integrity.
Georgia Wilkins – Crikey – 10 November 2020
Christian Porter was pushing his toothless anti-corruption watchdog even as his behaviour was being investigated by the media.

View from The Hill: When Australia’s first law officer is in the dock of public opinion
Michelle Grattan- The Conversation – 10 November 2020  See here for pdf.

Activists petition Federal government over persecuting whistleblowers
The Byron Shire Echo – 11 November 2020 – page 9
Gareth Smith and companions sent over 4,000 petition signatures to the Attorney-General.  Pdf.

Spying on Timor: Government, not whistleblowers should be on trial
Erwin Chlanda – Alice Springs News –  11 November 2020   Pdf here.

Porter’s secret state: how the attorney-general leads the government’s war against accountability
Georgia Wilkins and David Hardaker – Crikey Newsletter – 12 November 2020
As attorney-general, Porter has pursued secrecy in all its forms. Crikey runs through some of the lowlights.  Pdf here.

While Porter parties, his protection racket inflicts misery
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 12 November 2020
As Alan Tudge tried to protect Christian Porter from embarrassment, so Porter is trying to protect Alexander Downer from scrutiny over his role in the bugging of Timor-Leste.  Here’s a pdf.

Citizenship test changes deserve an ‘F’
Kim Rubenstein – The Public Sector Informant – November 2020.

Private becomes public for politicians in a changed world
Josh Bornstein – The Age – 16 November 2020
Differing views on the Four Corners revelations. Probable revenge against the ABC. Pdf.

It’s no surprise that Morrison’s federal anti- corruption body is weak
Paul Gregoire – The Big Smoke – 16 November 2020  Pdf here.

Strong reasons Porter must go
Kathryn Kelly’s letter – Canberra Times – 16 November 2020

If moral courage matters, this whistleblower needs defending
Nick Xenophon – The Sydney Morning Herald – 18 November 2020
As a last resort, David McBride finally “blew the whistle” by going to the media. The ABC published the “Afghan Files” in July 2017, setting out shocking details of war crimes and cover-ups – from material that McBride provided. The “Afghan Files” were a breakthrough revelation for Australians.  See Pdf here.

Australians must ensure pandemic powers aren’t extended beyond crisis, Law Council warns
Daniel Hurst – The Guardian – 18 November 2020
Hotly debated rights ‘are in fact backed by few constitutional or statutory guarantees’.  Pdf here.

Higher authorities
Hamish McDonald – The Inside Story – 20 November 2020
Who is being helped by the continuing pressure on Bernard Collaery and Witness K?   Pdf here.

(This article was also printed in the Canberra Times as “Who is being helped by putting Bernard Collaery on trial?”)

MP calls for Porter explanation on the persecution of K and Collaery
Bernard Keane – ­Crikey – 26 November 2020
A Labor MP with close links to Timor-Leste (Luke Gosling) has called on Christian Porter to explain himself over the prosecution of Witness K and Bernard Collaery and suggests ‘reputational protection’ is behind the secrecy of the trial. Pdf.

December 2019

No Right to Know:  Government is Secretly Prosecuting Australian Citizens
Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim – Sydney Criminal Lawyers – 1 December 2019

Secret trials in the ACT courts
Ernst Willheim – Pearls and Irritations – 2 December 2019
A mystery prisoner, referred to as ‘Alan Johns’, has been prosecuted and jailed for charges unknown to the public or the prison in which he was held. The article gives major focus on the equally disturbing trials of “Witness K” and Bernard Collaery.

Wannabe Spy
Kellie Merritt – Pearls and Irritations – 5 December 2019
“Downer is out and proud of his political status, there is more money to be made. But don’t be fooled, under the silky lined Burberry trench coat, Downer, the politician, is hiding a spy alter ego which has been crafting spook intrigue and deception for decades. Just enough to make any spy operative fearful… unless he crosses the path of witness K and his lawyer Bernard Collaery.”

Perrett breaks Labor silence on K and Collaery
Bernard Keane – Crikey – 05 December 2019     Here is a pdf.

The spying on Timor-Leste case … et cetera (part 9)
George Venturini – The Aim Network – 7 December 2019

Australia’s civil rights rating downgraded as report finds world becoming less free
Ben Doherty – The Guardian – 8 December 2019

How Official Secrets hides our spying nation’s dirty deeds
Paul Bongiorno – The New Daily – 10 December 2019

Phones taken, court closed in spy case
Finbar O’Mallon – The Canberra Times – 11 December 2019
The ACT Supreme Court heard the case against Bernard Collaery behind closed doors on Wednesday.

Letter in Sydney Morning Herald 11 December 2019 Susan Connelly

2019: a failed system leaves citizens bereft
Bernard Keane – Crikey– 20 December 2019  Pdf here.

Australians are “alarmingly” losing their personal freedoms, global monitor warns
Paul Gregoire – The Big Smoke – 30 December 2019

“You Have a Right to Know”: An Interview With Witness J
Paul Gregoire – Sydney Criminal Lawyers – 31 December 2019
Commonwealth orders  suppressed information concerning the arrest, trial, conviction and jailing of a former Australian intelligence official, known now as “Witness J”.  This matter prompted former NSW Supreme Court Justice Anthony Whealy to question whether Australia is becoming a “totalitarian state”.