Premier orders review of SA government surveillance after revelation Chinese-owned devices in use at federal sites

The Premier has ordered an immediate review of surveillance in SA government buildings over revelations Chinese-owned tech was in use at federal sites.

Peter Malinauskas has ordered a review of surveillance systems in state government buildings after it was revealed nearly 1000 Chinese Communist Party-linked devices were in operation at federal government sites across the country.

The Premier’s order came after Defence Minister Richard Marles directed his department to remove any CCP-linked surveillance devices from defence sites.

Mr Malinauskas said the state government had a “responsibility to protect its people, information and assets from compromise or harm”, but refused to “undertake running commentary on security matters”.

“In light of the statements made by the Australian Government today, I’ve asked my department to examine our arrangement and to consider whether our current framework remains sufficient," the Premier told The Advertiser.

The number of CCP-linked cameras operating in South Australia, however, remains shrouded in secrecy.

The Home Affairs Department confirmed an external closed-circuit television system manufactured by controversial Chinese company Dahua remained in use at its Adelaide office at 70 Franklin Street.

Cameras seen at the front of the Department of Home Affairs office on Franklin St in Adelaide CBD on Thursday.

A department spokesman said the system was owned and operated by the owner of the building, of which Home Affairs is a tenant.

“These cameras do not reach inside the tenancy areas occupied by the Department,” the spokesman said.

“These cameras are not connected to the Department’s network or the internet.”

Mr Marles on Thursday ordered his department to remove any devices in use at defence sites.

“We’re doing an assessment within Defence as to where those cameras exist and when we’ve gone through that process we’ll obviously remove those,” he said.

“I don’t think we should overreact to this, but it’s important that it’s been brought to our attention, it’s prudent that we do the assessment, and we’re going to act on it.”

NewsCorp Australia revealed on Thursday at least 913 intercoms, electronic entry systems and video recorders developed by Hikvision and Dahua were operating across 250 Australian government sites.

Cameras seen at the front of the Department of Home Affairs office on Franklin St in Adelaide CBD on Thursday morning.

SA Police’s security services branch, which is responsible for security at SA government buildings including Parliament House, would not reveal if it used any CCP-linked devices, such as those manufactured by surveillance giants Dahua and Hikvision.

“SAPOL is not in a position to disclose the type of devices that may be utilised in a variety of settings,” a police spokesman said.

US and the UK moved together in November to ban or restrict the installation of devices made by the two companies, which are partly owned by the Chinese Communist Party.

The Defence Department also would not say whether any of these devices were in use at South Australia’s various defence assets, including the Osborne shipyard.

In 2018, a Hikvision-brand CCTV camera was disconnected at RAAF’s Edinburgh base in Adelaide’s north.

The Australian War Memorial this week promised to rip out 11 Hikvision-branded devices.

In January 2020, SA Health announced it would remove all CCTV cameras made by Hikvision after it was revealed more than 1000 devices were in use.

It is unclear if all cameras have since been removed, as SA Health did not respond to The Advertiser’s questions before deadline.