Government successfully blocks Bernard Collaery from obtaining documents on legality of spy mission
by Christopher Knaus from on (#5Z94C)
Judge says legality of intelligence operation irrelevant to charge of disclosure of classified information
The federal government has successfully blocked Bernard Collaery from obtaining key documents about the lawfulness of the notorious spy operation against Timor-Leste, arguing that questions about its legality are irrelevant.
Collaery, a lawyer and one-time attorney general of the Australian Capital Territory, is awaiting trial on charges of conspiring to reveal classified information while working with his client, the former spy Witness K, in relation to a 2004 operation to bug the offices of Timor-Leste's government during oil and gas negotiations.
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