Scandal engulfs top spies: [2 Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 26 Sep 2002: 2.
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Abstract
The document, prepared by a group of senior intelligence officers, claims the DSD is an organisation in decline because of theimproper sexual behaviour of some of its managers, incompetence among senior ranks and illegal management procedures.
Among the allegations in a six-page dossier prepared by senior DSD officers and obtained by Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper, are claims that affairs have been conducted in work hours using taxpayer-funded hotel rooms.
Full Text
SCANDAL has beset Australia’s top spy agency after the leak of a document alleging sexual misconduct, nepotism and corruption in the ranks of the Defence Signals Directorate.
The document, prepared by a group of senior intelligence officers, claims the DSD is an organisation in decline because of theimproper sexual behaviour of some of its managers, incompetence among senior ranks and illegal management procedures.
Among the allegations in a six-page dossier prepared by senior DSD officers and obtained by Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper, are claims that affairs have been conducted in work hours using taxpayer-funded hotel rooms.
It is claimed also that one senior officer severely embarrassed his American counterparts by insisting on sharing a room with a senior female colleague, not his wife.
As a result, the woman is reported to have been rejected as the nominated DSD liaison officer by British intelligence agency, GCHQ.
The DSD is one of the country’s most sensitive intelligence organisations and has global links to spying networks throughout theWestern world.
The dossier calls for an urgent independent inquiry into the agency by three retired judges.
Morale within DSD is so low that staff are leaving in record numbers and the organisation has 80 vacancies in its operation centre.
One group of managers is referred to in the dossier as “the royal family” because of the tight-knit nature of their social circle.
A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Robert Hill failed to return calls last night.