David Hicks was driven around Sydney by this woman. Apparently, she is authorized to say he wants to study ecology, which seems a natural extension of his previous activity. Her T Shirt, has Martin Luther King's words "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
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Senior Brother Rudd has decreed his ministerial staff need to reveal details about their lives that may leave them open to blackmail. Staff are also expected to reveal extra-marital affairs and detail homosexual experiences.
More than 300 ministerial and electorate staffers have been ordered to fill in a 25-page form and attend an in-depth interview into their personal finances, drug habits and sexual history before gaining high-level security clearance.
Senior staff say they have been told the security form is designed to protect them from blackmail.
But several have told The Sunday Telegraph they were affronted at the personal information they had been forced to divulge.
Friends are also interviewed, and information about drug use and sexual history is cross-checked.
Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary John Faulkner admitted some ministerial staff had found the form intrusive but said the clearance was necessary for those who handled sensitive and classified material.
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What is not asked is interesting. Have the staff members ever supported terrorist activity? Have they ever had an interest in ecology?
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Brother Rudd
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Ministry staff told to reveal details of sex life
By Sharri Markson
MINISTERIAL staff in the Rudd government are being forced to list their history of sexual partners, before gaining security clearance.
Staff are also expected to reveal extra-marital affairs and detail homosexual experiences.
More than 300 ministerial and electorate staffers have been ordered to fill in a 25-page form and attend an in-depth interview into their personal finances, drug habits and sexual history before gaining high-level security clearance.
Senior staff say they have been told the security form is designed to protect them from blackmail.
But several have told The Sunday Telegraph they were affronted at the personal information they had been forced to divulge.
Friends are also interviewed, and information about drug use and sexual history is cross-checked.
Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary John Faulkner admitted some ministerial staff had found the form intrusive but said the clearance was necessary for those who handled sensitive and classified material.
"I'm ensuring the Government makes the obtaining of these security clearances a high priority, given the nature of the work and the sensitivity and classification of material that is handled,'' he said.
"Some staff find it intrusive, and it does take quite a long time.
"The higher level of clearance is more intrusive. There were too many staff who simply didn't have security clearance under the former government.
"I'm keen to ensure all staff have security clearance and that ministers are aware of that responsibility.''
An Australian Federal Police source confirmed the security-clearance process requested personal details.
"In the interview process, they ask you about your sexual orientation and whether you've ever had a homosexual experience,'' he said.
"They ask you how many sexual partners you've had, whether you've cheated on your wife and about your sexual habits.''
Media advisers and ministers' chiefs of staff are among those ordered to reveal their history of recreational drug use.
One question reads: "Is there anything in your personal life that could cause you embarrassment or reflects badly on your character?''
Another asks: "Have you ever used, or experimented with, any illegal drugs?''
An affirmative answer to an incriminating question does not necessarily mean security clearance will be refused.
The process of vetting is still being carried out.
- The Sunday Telegraph
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