The Latest Breaking News from James Paterson

Checks on cameras after spyware claims

Australia will remove surveillance cameras made by Chinese Communist Party-linked companies from its buildings, the government said Thursday after the U.S. and Britain made similar moves.

Australia's national war memorial will remove several Chinese-made security cameras installed on the premises because officials are concerned they could be used for spying, local media reported on Wednesday.

Almost a dozen cameras will be removed from the War Memorial over spyware fears, as new chair Kim Beazley insists the devices are only being used outside the building.

Dfat confirms it has provided advice to minister Penny Wong about using cyber-related powers introduced last year

Federal police and parliament's speaker are refusing to say why a prominent anti-Beijing activist was ordered to leave a public section of the building.

There are fears some individuals are helping wage a propaganda war for the Kremlin and sowing division among local Russian speakers, prompting the Labor government to make its strongest comments since taking office on Russia's presence in Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says authorities know who is behind the Medibank cyber attack, with authorities to share specific detail later on Friday.

Last month the ABC reported that the Department of Public Security in the Chinese city of Wenzhou had set up an official "contact point" for Chinese police in Sydney in 2018, but the AFP has told a Senate estimates hearing it does not believe that the office is currently active.