Note: The text of the following story was on the front page of paper edition of The Courier Mail this morning, but removed from the Courier Mail's web site by about 0900. The story is also available at the Taipei Times.
==
 Rogue spies have been blamed for hacking into the Defence Minister's personal laptop to track his financial connections to a wealthy Chinese businesswoman.
In the biggest spy scandal since the 1980s, the nation's security agencies were last night scrambling to find the culprits who either broke into Joel Fitzgibbon's office or hacked into his computer to probe his long-running friendship with Helen Liu.
The super secret Defence Signals Directorate has already been implicated amid accusations that "rogue" agents were desperately trying to discredit the Minister and get him sacked.
The laptop at the centre of high-level security breach is used by Mr Fitsgibbon to pay rent for a Canberra house owned by Ms Liu.
The businesswoman has close links with the Chinese Government. Fitzgibbon last night admitted that he had taken two trips to China paid for by Ms Liu, which he had not declared on the MP's gift register.
The trips were taken in 2002 to Beijing and Shanghai and 2005 to Shanghai when he was an Opposition frontbencher.
Some spies regard Ms Liu as a security risk and the hacking of Mr Fitzgibbon's private computer follows a major fallout with his department and Australia's defence forces.
The Minister has vowed to make Defence accountable for the $22 billion
of taxpayer funds it spends each year, with tensions boiling over
recently when the military ignored his orders to correct problems with
the SAS pay system that left some soldiers out of pocket.
Defence chiefs yesterday denied any involvement in the spying controversy and have launched an internal inquiry.
A second investigation has also been launched by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.
Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday said he was waiting for a full report,
but acknowledged friction between Mr Fitzgibbon and his department.
"Plainly, there are always tensions," he said.
It is understood Mr Fitzgibbon phoned Ms Liu in China on Wednesday to warn her that the story was brewing.
She
owns a house in Canberra that she offered to Mr Fitzgibbon for free,
but he insisted on paying a "market rent" for his parliamentary digs.
He said his relationship with her was not secret and no one had ever raised any concerns with him.
The Minister has known Ms Liu since 1992, when he met her in China with his father and former MP Eric Fitzgibbon.
She has been a strong financial backer of the ALP and Mr Fitzgibbon's election campaigns.
Acting
Prime Minister Julia Gillard last night ordered Mr Fitzgibbon to make
an apology for the undeclared trips, but expressed her confidence in
the Minister.
The revelation will strengthen calls for Mr
Fitzgibbon to be sacked following a string of controversies involving
his department.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the public had lost confidence in Mr Fitzgibbon.
"We
need to have a defence minister in whom the Australian Defence Force
has confidence, in whom the Australian public has confidence and who
can work effectively with his department," Mr Turnbull said.
"Joel Fitzgibbon can do none of those things."
DSD,
which reports to Defence Secretary Nick Warner, is restricted by law to
eavesdropping only on foreigners unless it is requested to assist other
agencies by intercepting the "foreign communications" of an Australian.
It
must have written permission from the Defence Minister for this. In the
early 1980s, a Soviet diplomat and spy named Valeriy Ivanov was booted
out of Australia and led to a royal commission after his dealings with
Canberra lobbyists and political figures.
===
UPDATE:
MSPA 112/09
Friday, 27 March 2009
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY OF DEFENCE, NICK WARNER
The Defence Department today welcomed the announcement made by the
Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS), Mr Ian Carnell, to hold
an inquiry into media allegations about the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD)
improperly accessing the IT equipment used by the Minister for Defence, and
related matters.
“These are serious charges and the Chief of Defence Force (CDF) and I
welcome Mr Carnell’s independent scrutiny of these matters” said the Secretary
of Defence, Mr Nick Warner.
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security provides independent
assurance for the Prime Minister, senior ministers and Parliament as to whether
Australia's intelligence and security agencies act legally and with propriety by
inspecting, inquiring into and reporting on their activities.
“Defence supports and will fully cooperate with Mr Carnell’s
investigation,” Secretary Warner said.
“As soon as CDF and I became aware of these allegations, I directed the
Defence Security Authority (DSA) to prepare an interim report as soon as
possible.
“The DSA has now provided an initial assessment to the CDF and me, which we
have passed to the Minister.
“The DSA’s initial assessment is that:
* no investigation of the Minister, his personal relationship with Ms Helen
Liu or of Ms Liu herself has been conducted by any element of Defence;
* prior to the current media articles, no Defence investigative authority
was aware of Ms Liu, and;
* neither the Defence Signals Directorate nor any other part of Defence has
had any access, authorised or unauthorised, to personal information within the
Minister’s office, including telephone contact numbers.
“These are preliminary findings and Defence will continue to investigate
further, in cooperation with Mr Carnell.”
“I have provided this initial assessment to Mr Carnell to assist his
investigations,” Secretary Warner said.
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