Oz espionage bill to ban interference in politics

Australia has approved national security legislation that would ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics and make industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime.

The two bills have been criticised as criminalising dissent, but the Senate is expected to make them law by tomorrow, with the support of the centre-left Labor Party opposition.

Individuals lobbying for foreign governments would have to be listed on a public register in a step towards making foreign influence on Australian politics more transparent.

The conservative government says the legislation is the major cause of a rift in diplomatic relations with China, Australia’s most important trading partner.

But the government maintains the move is not aimed at any particular country.