Keating launches spray at ASIO boss and Wong

Former prime minister Paul Keating has launched an extraordinary attack on ASIO boss Mike Burgess, accusing him of trying to undermine the Albanese government’s efforts to stabilise relations with China and claiming the spy boss should have been sacked after the last federal election.

In a fiery statement that renewed his attacks on Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Keating accused Anthony Albanese of being at odds with South-East Asian leaders as the prime minister hosts a special ASEAN summit in Melbourne.

Keating said the summit, which concludes on Wednesday, made clear that “Australia and Australian policy is at odds with the general tenor of ASEAN’s perceived strategic interests – that is, interests which relate to China and the United States and relations between them”.

Paul Keating (centre) took aim at ASIO’s Mike Burgess and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.Credit: Fairfax Media

Declaring that Albanese should have fired Burgess, Office of National Intelligence chief Andrew Shearer and former Home Affairs Department secretary Mike Pezzullo when he came to power, Keating said: “These people display utter contempt for the so-called stabilisation process that the prime minister had decided upon and has progressed with China, and will do anything to destabilise any meaningful rapprochement.

“Burgess runs the primary goon show while Shearer does all in his power to encourage Australia into becoming the 51st state of the United States.”

Describing Burgess as the government’s “resident conjuror”, Keating pointed to a story by this masthead revealing that China was the unnamed nation, referred to by Burgess in a speech last week, running a spy network in Australia known as the A-team.

“The kabuki show runs thus: Burgess drops the claim, then out of nowhere, the Herald and The Age miraculously appear to solve the mystery – the villain, as it turns out, is China after all,” Keating said.

“The anti-China Australian strategic policy establishment was feeling some slippage in its mindless pro-American stance and decided some new China rattling was overdue.”

The Herald and The Age’s story made clear that Burgess repeatedly refused to name the overseas intelligence agency, and that the mastheads had independently confirmed the nation behind the spy through independent reporting.

An ASIO spokesperson said: “We will not comment on Mr Keating’s latest ‘contribution’.”

Referring to a speech on Monday in which Wong warned of the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific and alluded to destabilising actions by Beijing, Keating said: “It doesn’t take much to encourage Penny Wong, sporting her ‘deeply concerned’ frown, to rattle the China can – a can she gave a good shake to yesterday.”

Wong gave her speech on the opening day of the ASEAN summit, where Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged Western nations not to pit South-East Asian nations against Beijing.

Keating on Tuesday said Anwar had “dropped a huge rock into Wong’s pond by telling Australia not to piggyback Australia’s problems with China onto ASEAN”.

“Anwar is making it clear, Malaysia for its part, is not buying United States hegemony in East Asia – with states being lobbied to ringfence China on the way through,” he said.

Keating last year launched a strident attack on the Albanese government for sticking with the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact and accused Wong of not being serious about foreign affairs by “running around the Pacific Islands with a lei around your neck”.

The offices of Burgess and Wong have been contacted for comment.

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