Australia’s domestic spy chief says people would be shocked to learn the identity of the countries his agency has caught actively interfering in diaspora communities. 

AceBreakingNews – ASIO boss Mike Burgess warns friendly nations among countries interfering in Australian communities

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ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said friendly nations were among the "three to four" nations detected actively working within Australian communities. It prompted him to warn that he'll name them if the threat poses a significant risk to Australians. 

“I can think of at least three or four that we have actually actively found involved in foreign interference in Australian diaspora communities,” he told the ABC’s Insiders program.

“Some of them would surprise you, some of them are also our friends.” Last month, the federal government unveiled plans to introduce several new measures to fight the growing threat of foreign interference.

The plans included making the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, established in 2020, permanent and expanded to include agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office.

In recent months, it has emerged that national security agencies discovered a local public servant and a doctor had been recruited to help track down a critic of a foreign regime, which then offered thousands of dollars to its agents to do "whatever was necessary" to silence the dissident.

The ABC has also learned that authorities recently uncovered a plot by an international intelligence service to lure an Australian resident, who was critical of a foreign regime, offshore where they could then be "eliminated."

Spy chief Iran’s ambassador

The comments by Mr Burgess come just days after the federal government lifted Australia's official terror alert level to "probable" amid heightened community tensions over the war in Gaza.

Security authorities believe the chances of a violent extremist act are now more likely than when authorities lowered the alert level to "possible" in November 2022.

Mr Burgess again rebuked Iran's ambassador to Australia, arguing that the diplomat's comments could risk causing violence.

The federal government last week called in Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi over a social media post agitating for the violent removal of Israelis from "the holy lands of Palestine." 

His post said he hoped, "wiping out the Zionist plague out of the holy lands of Palestine happens no later than 2027".

"The Iranian ambassador to Australia, what a classic, terrible example of actually inappropriate, unacceptable language that can drive violence in our society," he told Insiders.

The Nationals’ front bencher was compelled to apologise after urging protesters at an anti-wind farm rally to vote out several political figures.

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"I don't normally comment on diplomats and what they say, but that was an example worthy of being called out."

While reluctant to comment on individual politicians, Mr Burgess also conceded former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce's comments, in which he compared ballot papers to bullets, were unhelpful.

"It's unhelpful if you're using analogies (with) weapons designed to hurt people," Mr Burgess said.

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