TRANSCRIPT:
A concern from the heart of our democracy.
In the UK, a spy has been caught feeding back information to Chinese officials through their position as a researcher for a member of Parliament.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he confronted the Chinese premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi.
"With regard to my meeting with premier Li, what I said specifically is that I raised a range of areas of concerns that we have in areas of disagreement, and in particular my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy which is obviously unacceptable."
The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure to take further action.
Home secretary Suella Braverman is among those who want China to be relabelled as a threat to Britain's safety and interests under new national security laws.
It means anyone working "at the direction" of China or a state-linked firm would have to register and disclose their activities or risk jail time.
The UK's experience has also raised concerns for Australia.
Liberal frontbencher James Paterson says a Chinese spy could potentially undermine the country's political processes.
"Unfortunately, the risk of this happening in Australia is very high because the vast majority of staff who work in this building here in Parliament House are not security vetted or cleared in any way."
Doctor Dennis Desmond is a lecturer in cyber intelligence at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
He says such worries should be taken seriously.
"The likelihood of espionage occurring within Australia is certainly of concern. And the reason for that is, is that using multiple sources to collect intelligence, whether it's human intelligence signals intelligence, or other methods, including imagery intelligence, the potential for Australia to have significant damage to its national security, economic and trade status are significant."
Dr Desmond says he agrees that stronger security processes should be implemented.
"Anyone that that has a position within the Australian Government should be evaluated and vetted through some sort of background investigation process. This should be a standard approach because it's important for Australia to understand the background and potential, not just criminal but other interests that individuals may have that there lie within foreign interests or perhaps support criminal or other interests that are anathema to Australia's strategic and national security goals."
