Defence Minister Richard Marles has accused the former Coalition government of "doing nothing" about China-linked surveillance cameras in place on sensitive sites after they were first raised with ministers in 2018.
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It comes as the Chinese Foreign Ministry responds to the controversy, charging that removing the cameras is "over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power" to discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies.
It is calling for a "fair, just and non-discriminatory environment" for Chinese companies.
The systems in question, which are already restricted by the UK and United States governments, are installed on at least one Australian defence site, while more than 900 others have been found across Australian government departments and agencies through an informal audit by Liberal senator James Paterson.
He has warned that the companies, as well as other Chinese-based technology companies like Huawei, were "beholden to the Chinese Communist Party".
The Department of Defence has launched its own audit of the devices, with a particular focus on brands Hikvision and Dahua. The "comprehensive physical assessment" is expected to be completed by the end of April and the minister said all such devices will be removed.
Mr Marles said concern about the cameras, potentially being used as "spy cams" on Defence sites, was first raised in 2018 when the Coalition was in power and the Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was Defence Minister.
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"That not only predates the last election, but the one before that. I'm not sure how many Liberal defence ministers there were between 2018 and the last election, but this issue was there for the entirety of Peter's tenure in the job and nothing was done about it," he told the Today Show.
"We've not tried to make any political mileage out of this, but you know, we're watching the Liberals try and make something of this.
"The truth of the matter is this was made aware to them when they were last in government. They did nothing about it."
Senator Paterson, who is the opposition's cybersecurity spokesman and sits on the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security, said he is not attempting to be political.
"There's no need for it to be partisan at all. And I'm not seeking to make it partisan," he told The Canberra Times.
"I'm just drawing this to the attention of the government and encouraging them to act. And what I'd really like to see from them is a plan to deal with this problem to remove these devices."
The Chinese government is concerned about the impact on the companies and the Foreign Ministry has said the Australian reaction has gone too far.
"The Chinese government always encourages Chinese companies to engage in international investment and cooperation in accordance with market principles, international rules and local laws," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.
"We oppose erroneous practices of over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies.
"We hope the Australian side will provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for the normal operation of Chinese companies and do more things that could contribute to mutual trust and cooperation between our two countries."
Karen Barlow
Contact her on karen.barlow@canberratimes.com.au
