ASIO warned about information on MPs

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ASIO may be red-flagging Rudd government ministers and federal parliamentarians for something as harmless as the release of a media statement, the nation's spy agency has been warned.

Before the furore over the Australian Crime Commission maintaining a file on its minister, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell, set about examining what intelligence holdings the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation had on federal parliamentarians.

The ACC has been forced to improve its policies and practices after it emerged that a senior ACC officer created a file on Bob Debus after dining with the then home affairs minister in April last year.

The file, stored on the ACC database, was accessed by four staff who had no reason to do so.

While Mr Carnell found nothing to suggest ASIO was acting inappropriately, and no evidence it kept dossiers on parliamentarians, he had some concerns about its information and intelligence handling and storage.

He said ASIO often stored information that referred to parliamentarians who were not the focus of agents' inquiries.

"My concern is that the ongoing accumulation of this information could, over time, result in the perception that the parliamentarian himself or herself was of security interest," Mr Carnell told The Australian.

In response, he has asked ASIO to delete the names of MPs before storing such information, but it is understood ASIO has so far rebuffed his suggestion. He said he would continue discussing the issue with the Director-General of Security, David Irvine.

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