"… Whether or not it was Collaery who told them, the Timorese informed then prime minister JuliaGillard in December 2012 that they knew of the 2004 bugging operation & were intending 2 use it as evidence of bad faith in negotiations 2 annul the treaties reached with Downer…" https://twitter.com/jono_nath/status/1265432665731129344

"…Not long after, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (then led by the ASIS chief at the time of the Dili operation, David Irvine) raided Collaery’s office and seized material…"

"… Later, the government withdrew Witness K’s passport to prevent him from testifying at the proceedings Timor-Leste had launched at the International Court of Justice in The Hague…"

"…After years of manoeuvres ended with Timor-Leste’s decision to withdraw its bad-faith case (to Collaery’s great disappointment), Canberra agreed to mediation supervised from The Hague. The result was a vastly more favourable carve-up of Great Sunrise for the Timorese…"

"…While Canberra’s lawyers were fighting the bad-faith accusation in the International Court of Justice it would have been counterproductive to prosecute Collaery and Witness K for leaking about the ASIS operation…"

"…The threat of international condemnation removed, attorney-general Christian Porter authorised the director of public prosecutions to go ahead with charges against both…"

"… In a hearing scheduled for mid April, Witness K is pleaded guilty, apparently in return for not having a conviction recorded and being free again to travel. Collaery’s case has gone to a jury trial this week, 25th May despite Covid-19 disruption to court schedules…"

"…But a preliminary hearin' will test Porter’s invocation of the 2004 Nat- SecurityInfo-Act, which allows intelligence material 2 B revealed only in closed court. So far, it seems, even Collaery’s own defence counsel hv not bn allowed 2 see evidence bein' brought against him…"

"…Affidavits have been given to the court by former foreign minister Gareth Evans and former defence forces chief Chris Barrie. According to Justice David Mossop, both men challenge Porter’s assertion that the evidence, if disclosed, would threaten national security…"

"…Both Gusmão&Ramos-Horta R ready 2 testify as defence witnesses. Whether or not Collaery’s lawyers manage 2 have th-trial held in th-open w-Downer&officials cross-examined, this book's given th-case a wider moral settin' that'll greatly influence th-court o-public opinion…"

"…If they manage to have it introduced as evidence, it might well sway the jury.
The Dili operation taints not just the diplomatic & intelligence figures involved, but also the entire government of the time…"

"…Could Downer & his department head, Ashton Calvert, have authorised the buggin' without seeking approval from cabinet’s national security committee, whose other members would have been prime minister JohnHoward, deputy prime minister John Anderson, treasurer Peter Costello,…"

"…attorney-general Philip Ruddock and immigration minister Amanda Vanstone?…"

"… Why, one wonders, has Porter chosen to pick at this scab? The fact the prosecutions were launched confirms the ASIS bugging happened…"

"…With its 2015 decision to return to international jurisdiction, the Labor Party ended the shameful bipartisan effort to rob the Indonesians and Timorese. Porter is inviting a royal commission by a future government."