In the era since the September 11 terrorist attacks there has been an unprecedented appeal to intelligence as a justification for pre-emptive government action on the part of the Anglo-Saxon democracies. This paper discusses the management of intelligence by the Australian government in this era. In respect both of the ‘war on terrorism’ and other issues, the politicization of intelligence has been in evidence. Poor management practices (as evident, for example, in the Collins affair) have been a facilitating factor, but the main reasons have been the predominance of perceived alliance requirements and government recourse to the apparent expertise and objectivity of intelligence agencies for electoral advantage. The reforms proposed for the intelligence sector do not address the root causes of politicization but may actually facilitate this trend.

This item was commisioned by Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, ANU