Spy chief rejects any suggestion of leaks
Australia's spy chief has stressed the "seriously damaging" impact of the intelligence agency's classified advice to the government being leaked to the media.
Duncan Lewis, the director-general of ASIO, also addressed the harm done by media outlets wrongfully attributing advice to the spy agency.
Mr Lewis is adamant his officers would never divulge ASIO advice to third parties.
"ASIO does not and will not use its position to influence the national debate on security-relevant issues through unauthorised disclosures," he told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Monday.
"ASIO does not finalise policy or provide running public commentary on the effectiveness of policy proposals."
His statement appears to be in relation to recent media reporting about security advice on asylum seeker medical transfers.
The leaked advice was drawn from a Home Affairs briefing, not from ASIO.
"When reporting wrongly attributes advice from ASIO, or where our classified advice is leaked, it undermines all that we stand for," Mr Lewis said.
The Australian Federal Police is investigating the advice being leaked to The Australian newspaper.
