The Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security, also known as the Hope Commission, was established on 21 August 1974 by Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to investigate the country's intelligence agencies. The commission was led by Justice Robert Hope. It concluded its work in 1977.
Contents
Background
The commission, led by Justice Robert Hope, was established in response to the 1973 Murphy raids on the headquarters of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
Findings
On 27 May 2008, the records of the commission were partly released to the public.
In his report, Robert Hope asserted that Australia's intelligence agencies were too close to those in the UK and the US, as part of the five-nation UKUSA Agreement.
As of 2014, many declassified documents authored by the commission remain redacted.
Controversy
Australia's secretary of the Department of Defence, Arthur Tange ordered that the commission "should not be told too much" because this would put the Five Eyes alliance in jeopardy. As a result, the commission was not granted access to the satellite tracking station Pine Gap.