George Brandis
 George Brandis    (spook, politician) | ||||||||
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| Born | 22 June 1957 | |||||||
| Nationality | Australian | |||||||
| Alma mater | University of Queensland, Magdalen College (Oxford) | |||||||
| Member of | AIJAC/Rambam Programs/2009, AIJAC/Rambam Programs/2010 | |||||||
Going to great lengths to protect deep state as Attorney General
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George Henry Brandis is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since May 2018. He was previously a Senator for Queensland between 2000 and 2018, representing the Liberal Party, and was a minister in the Howard, Abbott, and Turnbull Governments.
Brandis studied law at the University of Queensland and Magdalen College, Oxford. Before entering politics he practised as a barrister.
Brandis was appointed to the Senate in 2000 to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Warwick Parer. He was Minister for the Arts and Sport for the last year of the Howard Government in 2007. When the Coalition returned to power in 2013, Brandis became Attorney-General and Minister for the Arts, during which time he cut AUD 105 million of funding to the Australia Council for the Arts in the 2015-16 Budget. He relinquished the latter portfolio in 2015, when Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister, but was instead made Leader of the Government in the Senate.[1]
Brandis announced his retirement from politics in December 2017, with effect from February 2018. He replaced Alexander Downer as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in May 2018
Attorney General
Brandis supported and approved a December 2013 ASIO raid on Bernard Collaery’s Canberra office (a legal representative for East Timor), where all documents and computers were seized by the government, and which Brandis claimed was for national security interests.[2] Shortly after the raid, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the Australian government was not permitted to use or view any of the raid evidence. Brandis claimed the ICJ ruling was a good outcome for the government.[3] The Timor Gap case involved allegations of ASIS spying during commercial negotiations with the East Timorese over the $40 billion oil and gas reserves of the contested Greater Sunrise fields within the East Timorese exclusive economic zone.[4]
Additionally Brandis approved the ASIO raid and passport cancellation of a former Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) agent, who was a director of technical operations at ASIS and the whistle-blower on the allegations of commercial spying done by Australia on East Timor, which consequently prevented the unnamed former agent from testifying at the ICJ in the Netherlands.[5][6]
References
- ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-cabinet-and-outer-ministry-20130916-2tuma.html
- ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/george-brandis-pleased-with-court-ruling-in-east-timor-spying-case-20140305-345ol.html
- ↑ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/international-court-of-justice-bans-australia-from-spying-on-east-timor/story-e6frg6so-1226844389340
- ↑ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c6510cf2-5eef-11df-af86-00144feab49a.html#axzz2x28jQCuH
- ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/east-timor-takes-timor-gap-case-with-australia-to-the-hague-amid-bullying-claims/story-fni0fiyv-1226776411698
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/timor-leste-spy-case-brandis-claims-ridiculous-says-ambassador
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