MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Australian government is set in the near future to introduce new laws banning foreign donations to the country's parties, as well as targeting spies and foreign interference, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.
According to the media outlet, the government, in particular, is expected to toughen laws banning disclosure of classified information.
The package of counter-intelligence laws, that would reportedly be designed similarly to US foreign agents registration act (FARA), will be released in the final week of parliament for 2017.
The crackdown comes amid revelations made by the Fairfax Media group that Sam Dastyari, a senator from the Labour party, warned the Chinese Communist Party-linked political donor Huang Xiangmo that his phone was tapped. Moreover, Dastyari reportedly expressed support for Beijing's provocative actions in the South China Sea.
Speculations regarding foreign interference in Australia's domestic affairs has long been circulating, with head of Australia's domestic intelligence Duncan Lewis saying in October that some foreign governments were active on Australian campuses, though he did not specify any countries.
