Defence given all clear on WikiLeaks 1.0

James Riley
Tuesday, 26 October 2010 21:08

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The release of tens of thousands military documents from the Afghanistan conflict by the WikiLeaks website last July had not had a direct significant impact on Australia's national security interests, Defence Minister Stephen Smith has told Parliament.

The Defence Department today released the findings of an internal Taskforce that had been commissioned in July by former minister Senator John Faulkner that looked at each of the 76,900 documents to materials "to identify references to Australian interests and personnel."

These results were then compared with operational reporting and Defence public statements to determine the potential impact on Australian interests,  including the operations of forces deployed in Afghanistan.

"I am very pleased to advise that the taskforce has completed its deliberations. It provided me with its report on Friday '¦ (and) in general terms, there has been no adverse implications for our national security interests," Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith said the same TaskForce now had a bigger issue to deal with: WikiLeaks earlier this month published 400,000 secret military documents from between 2004 and 2009 related to Iraq war.

"With the benefit of the experience we have had with the Afghanistan documents, that Taskforce will now continue its work in respect of those (new) documents," he said.

The investigation found that the leaked materials were predominantly tactical-level reporting, the majority of which was low-level operational reporting of activities such as patrols, community engagement and routine operations.

The TaskForce said that significant operational issues related to Australia in the leaked materials had already been publicly reported by Defence.

It also said no local sources were clearly identified in the leaked materials and steps had been taken to mitigate the risk of this occurring.

"The unauthorised release of any classified military documentation is a matter of most serious concern," Mr Smith told Question Time. "That's for the very obvious reason that the release of such materials can put operations - security operations - at risk, and can put Australian lives at risk."

"It can also put at risk the lives and the safety and the well-being of individuals who assist (our forces), in general terms, either in Afghanistan or previously in Iraq."