Local company exports banned

AN Australian company has been accused of trying to export radiation-hardened electronic components to Asia.

AN Australian company has been accused of trying to export radiation-hardened electronic components to Asia for use in weapons of mass destruction.

Relying on secret intelligence, Defence Minister David Johnston last month issued a rare prohibition order to block the shipment under the Weapons of Mass Destruction (Prevention of Proliferation) Act.

While Defence remains tight-lipped about the case and is refusing to specify the company or country involved, the US military has previously raised concerns that China was seeking to bolster its defences against an atomic electromagnetic pulse attack or even develop EMP weapons of its own.

A Pentagon report released last year warned foreign entities in East Asia and the Pacific were seeking to obtain radiation-hardened elec­tronics that could withstand the effects of ionising radiation released in a nuclear explosion, by commercial atomic reactors or the sun.

Such components can be used for nuclear weapons, aerospace vehicles, ballistic missiles or as part of digital espionage campaigns.

Since the act was introduced in 1995, its extraordinary powers have been used on only 12 occasions, half of which involved Iran before broader sanctions were imposed.

In the past, India and Pakistan also have attracted the attention of intelligence analysts, who intervened to stop Australia unwittingly contributing to nuclear tensions in the region.

This is the first notice issued by the Abbott government and the first involving electronic components.

It appears to involve a country not otherwise the subject of trade sanctions. The last time the act was used was two years ago involving a contract for the supply of industrial equipment and technical services to the Middle East.

The Gillard government engaged former intelligence chief Bill Blick to review the act, amid concerns it undermined the manufacturing sector, and also considered extending the powers to cover investments and the flow of information. The report has not been released.

Separate data from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, meanwhile, reveals 302,059 people are listed on Australia’s People Alert List because of national security concerns, with another 3096 red-flagged.