The Protest Years: The Official History of ASIO, 1963-1975

The Official History of ASIO #2

by John Blaxland

In 1963, Robert Menzies had been in office for 13 years, Australians had entered the war against communism in Vietnam, and change was in the air. With its focus on exposing Soviet spies and communist collaborators, ASIO struggled to adjust to a society no longer willing to unquestioningly accept authority. This was the period of protests against the Vietnam War, and the rise of the women’s liberation movement, Aboriginal land rights, and student activism. ASIO was concerned that the new freedoms being so stridently demanded would open the floodgates to revolution, and was slow to recognize the decline of the Communist Party of Australia and the rise of the more radical New Left. With unrestricted access to ASIO’s internal files, and extensive interviews with former government officials, The Protest Years tells the inside story of Australia’s domestic intelligence organization during the turbulent period from the end of the Menzies era to the end of the Whitlam government. For the first time, the truth about ASIO and CIA involvement in the demise of the Whitlam government is revealed, also the impact of the raid on ASIO headquarters in Melbourne by Attorney-General Lionel Murphy, and Australia’s intelligence activities in Papua New Guinea.  The Protest Years is the second of three volumes of The Official History of ASIO.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

576 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2015

About the author

John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.

His research interests concern intelligence and the security arms of government, Australian military history and strategy, defence studies, military operations, international relations, and Australia’s flag.

Reviews

[Rowan Rafferty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to have lived through these years in Canberra where some ASIO operatives were known (I lived next door to some twice, in different places). So one has a little insight, such as, although the event (i.e. the subject of the book and later a film) is referenced, the infantile banning of 'The Falcon and the Snowman" (1979) involving Christopher Boyce is not mentioned; nor was a damaging car accident involving two ANU students in a car with other ASIO people.

What does emerge is the obvious obsession that ASIO had with some matters and not others of equal of greater threat to Australian society (if only a part). Thus the dominance and predisposition of some of the old warhorses in ASIO and the Canberra bureaucracy is exposed for posterity.

Thus the book undoubtedly contains facts, but some of the commentary, I believe shows a pro-ASIO bias, on behalf of the writer in his impressions. Others, like me may not have seen it that way at the time or later.

[Lee Belbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting summary of ASIO between 1963-1975. You get a fair insight into ASIO’s operations including relations with the Australian and a number of foreign governments. The fun times were during Whitlam’s time as PM. I remember these times as going from one scandle to the next. ASIO was commonly in the ALP’s focus (seein that over 50% of ASIO focus was on the Australian Communist Party) and relations with the USA were brittle. While the history as reported is rather ‘dry’, there are plenty of illuminating bits such as the East Timor and PNG happenings.

[Ross Mallett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The official history of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation continues in this volume, written by John Blaxland. Like David Horner, he is a Duntroon graduate and a former regular Australian Regular Army officer. He served as an intelligence officer with the International Force for East Timor during the Australian-led intervention in 1999, and the US Defense Intelligence Agency during the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Like Horner, he then became a historian, writing his PhD at the Royal Military College of Canada on the military relationship between Australia and Canada.

The change in author is seamless, and it reads exactly the same as the previous volume. It also inherits the main flaw of its predecessor, the lack of context. The reader is expected to know who, for example, Joan Coxsedge is (and unfortunately, her Wikipedia article won't be much help). Indeed, for most military historians, the Second World War and the early Cold War are probably more familiar than the Vietnam War and the early 1970s.

This volume covers the most turbulent period in ASIO's history, and one that saw the organisation fail to respond to challenges both from without and within. Like many other government bodies, it had difficulty adapting to a change of government after 23 years under the Liberal Party, whom Blaxland frankly characterises as unscrupulous. Failure to establish proper training and development programs led to an erosion of professionalism as the old hands retired. It continued to track the Communist Party of Australia long after any threat posed by it had passed, and confusion over its mission led to to embarrassing 1973 Murphy raids by its own minister, the Attorney-General. Overconfidence resulted in it being penetrated by the KGB.

Explosive topics are handled with the professionalism of a member of the Army Bomb Disposal Squad. But while ASIO's role is detailed, the reader will have to seek more information elsewhere. Nor is this the last word on these subjects. And Blaxland has to deal with some highly contentious and controversial issues, including ASIO surveillance of ordinary citizens, particularly those involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement; ASIO operations exceeding its authority; Liberal ministers, including Prime Minister Robert Menzies deliberately misleading the parliament; international terrorist organisations basing themselves in Australia; and the role of US intelligence agencies in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.