Why the ASIO boss’s espionage warning should alarm the average Aussie

A security expert says all Australians should be concerned by the threat espionage poses.

Speaking on Tuesday, ASIO’s Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, warned foreign intelligence services are more active here than ever before.

Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies at ANU, John Blaxland, says Mr Burgess’s explanation of the threat was “really powerful” and all Australians should take note.

NEIL MITCHELL: “Why should this be scary to someone just going about their life in Melbourne, Australia today?”

JOHN BLAXLAND: “Because this is about undermining intellectual property rights, it’s about undermining our economic viability. It’s about undermining our political independence and freedom. All of those things we value, and they’re all things that contribute to our prosperity, to our employment, to our prospects and to the future of our kids.”

Press PLAY below to hear why every Australian should be concerned

ASIO boss warns espionage is more prevalent than ‘at any time in Australia’s history’