An Australian politician ‘sold out’ the nation to foreign spies. Now the country responsible for turning one of our own against us can be revealed

The mystery country that managed to get an Australian politician to U-turn and ‘sell out’ his own nation has been identified.

China has been revealed as the country behind what ASIO director general Mike Burgess called the ‘A team’ that spied on Australia.

Mr Burgess revealed for the first time last Wednesday evening that an ex-politician had become entangled in a spy ring, but he remained tight-lipped about his identity.

He also declined to name the country involved, but Nine newspapers reported that it had independently confirmed that a department of China’s Ministry of State Security dealing with Australia was responsible.

In a 60 minutes During an interview on Sunday evening, Mr Burgess again defended his decision not to name the country involved, despite publicly naming China last October for its “unprecedented” theft of Western intellectual property.

The country a former politician was involved in – with ASIO’s director general Mike Burgess (pictured) saying Australia had ‘sold out’ – has been named

‘It is a complex, challenging and changing security environment. The world is complex, it is not just one country,” he said.

“I don’t think it gives them courage that I don’t mention their names, they know who they are.”

Without going into detail, Mr Burgess provided insight into what could drive a politician to betray his own country, including whether money or coercion might be involved.

‘It could be money, it could be political beliefs. It could be that a foreign intelligence agency has built a relationship with you for years, built up a sense of indebtedness, so that you feel like you owe someone something,” he said. SBS.

‘It could be coercion, it could also be blackmail. There are a number of reasons why these things happen in general, but in specific cases, and even in the case I tell you, I won’t go into details.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Australia must take a “tough” stance on the spying revelations.

The Nationals frontbencher said the federal government must deal with the “clear threat” of foreign espionage as quickly as possible.

“There is or has been an active spy within our government and what we do know is that China is behind it,” he told Today.

“Australia (must) be as strong as possible as quickly as possible.”

Mr Burgess said the former politician had been asked to help select and invite people to an all-expenses-paid foreign conference organized by members of a foreign intelligence service.

Those spies then planned to pose as “bureaucrats” who would use the event to build relationships with people who had access to sensitive information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese branded speculation from some quarters about the person’s identity as “incredibly irresponsible”, while Labor frontman Jason Clare said the revelation was proof that espionage was a real threat.

“The point is there is evidence here from the head of ASIO saying another country has interfered in Australian politics by contacting a politician,” he told Sky News.

‘This isn’t a game of guess who, this is about keeping the country safe – the fact that this has happened at all is deadly serious.’

Burgess said the former politician was no longer a threat to Australia’s security, but they “knew what they were doing”.

‘They have absolutely let their country down… They have sold out Australia. The law is the law, and in this case that is reality. It’s been dealt with.’

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (pictured) said Australia must take a ‘tough’ stance on the spying revelations

In an interview on Sunday evening, Burgess again defended his decision not to name the country involved, despite publicly naming China last October for its “unprecedented” theft of Western intellectual property. The photo shows Parliament House in Canberra

When asked on 60 Minutes whether appointing the politician would address ongoing national security concerns, Mr Burgess said: ‘This is different, this is not access to classified information.

“These are the clandestine, deceptive actions of a nation state and an individual who supports them so they can be recruited,” he said.

‘The good thing, however, is that the behavior has stopped. The damage is reduced.’

He added that “Foreign interference in the political system is happening at all levels of government in this country.”