Australia's Spies and their Secrets

Australia's Spies and their Secrets tells the inside story of the rise and fall of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) - Australia's premier spy body. Based on thousands of documents never before revealed, along with interviews with over thirty former ASIO officers and many of those spied upon, this fascinating book exposes the secret dimensions of Australia's post-war politics and history. It is certain to provoke debate and controversy.


In this ultimate Australian spy story, investigative journalist David McKnight: rewrites the known history of the Petrov Royal Commission; instances actual cases of Soviet espionage in Australia; tells how a gigantic system of security dossiers on ordinary Australians was built up; exposes government and ASIO plans to intern 10 000 people; outlines ASIO's links with the leadership of the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party; reveals ASIO's extensive use of journalists; outlines ASIO's hidden role in the Vietnam War; and tells how ASIO officers feared that Lionel Murphy was a KGB spy.


Australia's Spies and their Secrets is essential reading about Australia and its recent past.


'This book is a fascinating study of ASIO, meticulously researched and destined, no doubt, to become an indispensable source for understanding Australia's spies.' - Jim McClelland, Former Minister in the Whitlam Government