Urgent probe launched into accidental sale of classified documents
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s department has launched an “urgent investigation” into how two filing cabinets containing classified and sensitive government documents were mistakenly sold at a second hand furniture shop in Canberra.
In an extraordinary lapse of security, the documents, which include federal cabinet papers that should not be made public for 20 years, were apparently bought by a member of the public and eventually passed on to the ABC.
A spokesperson for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said: “The secretary of the department ... has initiated an urgent investigation into the circumstances around the disposal of two Commonwealth government filing cabinets that alledged contained classified material. Given that the investigation is underway, it is not appropriate for the department to comment further at this time."
The ABC has reported the filing cabinets were locked when the unidentified person bought them. The buyer eventually drilled open the locks and discovered thousands of pages of documents.
Nearly all the files were classified, some as “top secret” or for Australian eyes only, the ABC reported.
They have formed the basis of several ABC stories over the past few days that were embarrassing to several previous governments.
The documents stretch over about a decade, the ABC has reported, and cover the Howard, Rudd, Gillard and Abbott governments.
According to the ABC, the documents include an audit that reveals the Australian Federal Police lost nearly 400 national security files between 2008 and 2013.
Another document reveals nearly 200 top secret and sensitive papers were left in former finance minister Penny Wong’s office after Labor lost the 2013 election. These included Middle East defence plans, details on counter-terrorism operations and intelligence on Australia’s neighbours.
The AFP documents and those from Senator Wong’s former office are not the same as the documents in the filing cabinets.
Senator Wong said: "This is the first time I have ever been made aware of this matter, which relates to a change of government over four years ago. As a former cabinet minister who participated in national security meetings, a senior member of shadow cabinet and a current member of the [Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security], I always take my responsibilities seriously."
David Wroe is the defence and national security correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House
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