A Charles Sturt University (CSU) intelligence studies academic says there were many motivating factors for the Director General of the Australian Security and Intelligence Service (ASIS) to speak publicly last week for the first time since the organisation was established 60 years ago.
Mr Patrick Walsh, senior lecturer and course coordinator of the Intelligence Studies Program
at CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security commented on the ground-breaking speech by the Director General of ASIS, Mr Nick Warner, at the Lowy Institute in Canberra on Thursday 19 July.
Mr Walsh said, “Since the 9/11 attacks on the USA, there is greater public awareness about intelligence services, what they do, their shortcomings and successes, and whether the taxpayer is getting value for money.
“We have seen growing public interest in knowing more about these agencies, particularly their value, and, for some, their accountability.
“ASIS and many other intelligence agencies among our allies (like Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US) have changed a great deal since 9/11 in the way they work and interact with the public.
“The 9/11 Commission Report and the investigation into the so-called Iraq ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in the US, and the Flood Report and the Independent Intelligence Review (2011) in Australia, all make the case for greater transparency, scrutiny and accountability of intelligence services.
“After 60 years of ASIS operating in secret, the speech by Mr Warner was part of a gradual but careful awareness campaign by ASIS, and other agencies within the intelligence community, to reassure the public that they are doing valuable work for the country.”
Mr Walsh also noted that ASIS frequently recruits intelligence officers via advertisements in the major weekend papers, but anyone interested in a career in intelligence gathering can also go to the ASIS website to download application information.
Asked what people should study if they are interested in applying to work for an intelligence service such as ASIS, Mr Walsh said backgrounds that would be useful are law, political science, law enforcement, language skills and criminology.
He noted that CSU has had the longest-operating tertiary intelligence studies program in Australia, and advised that candidates should consider studying postgraduate courses such as the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master of Arts (Intelligence Analysis).
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