Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and former Telstra CEO and current Chancellor of RMIT University Dr Zygmunt "Ziggy" Switkowski have a lot to answer for - as do their respective cabinet ministers and telco chair and board members.
It is noted that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was a cabinet minister in the Howard Government during the period in which this secret data collection and retention agreement was negotiated and signed, as was National Party Leader Warren Truss. Both men are standing at the forthcoming federal election.
Telstra’s current Chair, Catherine
Livingstone, was also an independent non-executive director on the board at the time the agreement was negotiated and signed, whilst current CEO David Thodey was Group Managing Director of Telstra Mobiles in 2001 and was not appointed to
the position of Group Managing Director Telstra Enterprise and Government until
December 2002.
Telstra must reveal all on secret deal with FBI
12 Jul 2013 | Scott Ludlam Media Release
Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy
Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy
The Greens have called on Telstra to immediately disclose details of a secret deal, revealed by Crikey today, which was struck 12 years ago to allow the FBI and US Department of Justice to monitor calls and data traffic via the company's undersea cables.
"Telstra, at the time majority owned and controlled by the Howard Government, struck a deal to allow 24/7 surveillance of calls going in and out of the United States, including calls made by Australians. The cables in question are operated by Telstra subsidiary Reach, which controls more than 40 major telecommunications cables in the region, including cables in and out of China and Australia," said Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.
"While the current Australian Government recently pushed then abandoned a two-year mandatory data retention scheme, for more than a decade this secret deal with the United States compelled Telstra, Reach and PCCW to store all customer billing data for two years.
"The deal also compelled Telstra, Reach and PCWW to provide any stored communications and comply with preservation requests; to provide any stored meta-data, billing data or subscriber information about US customers; to ignore any foreign privacy laws that might lead to mandatory destruction of stored data; and to refuse information requests from other countries without permission from the United States.
"This secret deal also allowed FBI and US Department of Justice officials to conduct inspection visits of Telstra and Reach offices and infrastructure.
"This is an extraordinary breach of trust, invasion of privacy, and erosion of Australia's sovereignty," said Senator Ludlam.
The agreement is available at this link: http://media.crikey.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/US-NSAs-Telstra.pdf
Financial
Review 13 May
2013:
The Coalition has
approached former Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski to be a director of
NBN Co if it wins the election in another sign that it plans to shake up the
board of the $37.4 billion broadband project.
The Australian Financial
Review can reveal that opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has
canvassed Mr Switkowski and other former Telstra executives to replace NBN
co-directors as he prepares for negotiations with the telco.
On 9 July 2013 Public Intelligence
posted a list of other telecommunications corporations known to have made
similar agreements with the U.S. Government:
Corporate Parties
|
Government Parties
|
Date
|
Download Link
|
Level 3
Communications, Inc.
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ
|
September 26,
2011
|
|
AP TeleGuam
Holdings, Inc.; AP TeleGuam Merger Sub, LLC
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ
|
May 1, 2011
|
|
American Samoa
Hawaii Cable, LLC; Samoa American Samoa Cable, LLC; American Samoa License,
Inc.; and AST Telecom, LLC d/b/a Blue Sky Communications
|
DHS
|
February 2,
2011
|
Download
(12.85 MB) |
TerreStar
Corporation; TerreStar Networks Inc.,
|
DHS, DoJ
|
December 18,
2009
|
|
GU Holdings
Inc.
|
DHS
|
September 21,
2009
|
|
American Samoa
Hawaii Cable, LLC; AST Telecom, LLC
|
DHS
|
January 9,
2009
|
|
Inceptum 1 AS
now known as Mobsat Holding Norway AS; Telenor Satellite Services AS
successor to Telenor Broadband Services AS now known as Vizada AS; Telenor
Satellite Services Holdings, Inc.; Mobsat Holding US, Inc. now known as
Mobsat Holding US Corp; Telenor Satellite, Inc., now known as Vizada
Satellite, Inc.; Telenor Satelltie Services, Inc. now known as Vizada, Inc.;
GMPCS Personal Communications, Inc.; Marlink, Inc.; Telenor Secure Services,
Inc. now known as Vizada Secure Services, Inc.; MindSparX, Inc.; Vizada
Services Holding, Inc.; Vizada Services LLC
|
DHS, DoJ, FBI
|
September 25,
2008
|
|
Horizon Mobile
Communications, Inc.; SatCom Distribution, Inc.; SatCom Distribution Ltd.;
and SatCom Group Holdings Plc
|
DHS, DoJ
|
September 24,
2008
|
|
Inmarsat
Global Limited; Inmarsat Hawaii Inc.
|
DHS, DoJ
|
September 17,
2008
|
|
Reliance
Communications Limited; Reliance Gateway Net Limited; FLAG Telecom Group
Limited; FLAG Telecom Group Services; Yipes Holdings, Inc.; Yipes Enterprise
Services, Inc.
|
DHS, DoJ
|
November 30,
2007
|
|
Stratos
Communications, Inc., previously MarineSat
Communications Network, Inc.; Stratos Mobile Networks LLC; Stratos Mobile Networks, Inc.; CIP Canada Investment Inc. |
DHS, DoJ, FBI
|
August 14,
2007
|
|
Global Crossing
Limited, formerly known as GC Acquisition Limited; Singapore Technologies
Telemedia Pte Ltd
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ,
FBI
|
February 1,
2007
|
|
Telenor
Satellite Services AS; Telenor Satellite Services Holdings, Inc.; Telenor
Satellite, Inc.; Telenor Satellite Services, Inc.; Inceptum 1 AS; Mobsat
Holding US, Inc.; GMPCS Personal Communications, Inc.; Marlink, Inc.; Telenor
Secure Services, Inc.; MindSparX, Inc.
|
DHS, DoJ, FBI
|
March 5, 2007
|
|
Guam Cellular
and Paging, Inc.; DoCoMo Guam Holdings, Inc.
|
DHS, DoJ, FBI
|
October 13,
2006
|
|
América Móvil,
S.A. de C.V.; Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico,
Inc. |
DHS, DoJ
|
2006
|
|
Cypress
Communications Holding Company, Inc.; TechInvest Holding Company, Inc.;
Arcapita Investment Management Limited; and Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c)
|
DHS, DoJ, FBI,
Treasury
|
June 17, 2005
|
|
TelCove, Inc.
|
DHS, DoJ, FBI
|
June 15, 2005
|
|
VSNL America,
Inc.; VSNL Telecommunications, Inc.; Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ,
FBI
|
April 7, 2005
|
|
Telefonica
Moviles, S.A.; TEM Puerto Rico, Inc.; NewComm Wireless Services, Inc.
|
DHS, DoJ, FBI
|
May 14, 2004
|
|
Micronesian
Telecommunications Corporation; Pacific Telecom, Inc.
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ,
FBI
|
October 6,
2003
|
|
Global
Crossing Ltd.; GC Acquisition Limited; Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte
Ltd
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ,
FBI
|
September 23,
2003
|
|
XO
Communications, Inc.
|
DoJ, FBI
|
September 16,
2002
|
|
Telenor
Satellite Services Holdings, Inc.; Telenor Satellite, Inc.; Telenor Satellite
Services, Inc.; Telenor Broadband Services AS
|
DoJ, FBI
|
November 29,
2001
|
|
Reach Ltd.;
Telstra Corporation Limited; Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited
|
DoJ, FBI
|
November 29,
2001
|
|
Mobile
Satellite Ventures LLC; Mobile Satellite Ventures Subsidiary LLC; Motient
Corporation; TMI Communications and Company, Limited Partnership
|
DHS, DoD, DoJ,
FBI
|
November 14,
2001
|
|
MarineSat
Communications Network, Inc.; Stratos Mobile Networks LLC
|
DoJ, FBI
|
August 7, 2001
|
|
Deutsche
Telekom AG; Voicestream Wireless Corporation; Voicestream Wireless Holding
Corporation
|
DoJ, FBI
|
April 1, 2001
|
|
AT&T
Corp.; British Telecommunications PLC; TNV BV; VLT Co. LLC; Violet License
Co. LLC
|
DoD, DoJ, FBI
|
October 7,
1999
|
American telco customers are fighting back through the courts - but has anyone in this country filed against the United States of America, Commonwealth of Australia and Telstra Corporation Limited yet?
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