Hello. My name is Hamish Hansford, and I'm the National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator.
As the Director-General of security has said, espionage and foreign interference are at extreme levels, and we anticipate that they will only intensify. This harms our people, institutions and our country.
Foreign governments and their proxies do this in various ways. They can monitor, harass and intimidate members of our community and try and steal the hard work and bright ideas of researchers in academia and industry. They can create conflict between members of the community through the spread of disinformation or attempt to interfere in our free and open democratic elections.
This is why earlier this year we launched Countering Foreign Interference in Australia. Countering Foreign Interference in Australia describes the foreign interference threats facing our communities, democratic institutions, higher education and research sectors, industry, as well as media and communications. It outlines who is most at risk and what our government is doing to address foreign interference and how individuals and organisations can help protect themselves.
It also describes a range of measures that the Australian government has implemented to respond to foreign interference. Some of these measures include investment by the government of $71.6 million over four years, from 2024 to 2025, to bolster our foreign interference efforts to protect Australians from this threat.
The establishment of several taskforces to tackle the issue head on. The Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, the University Foreign Interference Taskforce and the Technology Foreign Interference Task Force, as well as the Electoral Integrity Assurance Task Force, all draw upon the unique skill sets offered by different Australian governments, departments and agencies.
Foreign interference impacts our entire society, undermining our independence and wellbeing, limiting our ability to say what we think and eroding our democracy. If you see or experience foreign interference, we'd like you to report it. Trust your instinct, even though it might be nothing, the smallest piece of information can be valuable, and if you witness or suspect foreign interference, contact the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400.
If at any time you feel in danger or unsafe, call 000 or your local police. To learn more, please read Countering Foreign Interference in Australia.
Thank you.
