A Russian-born married couple - a private in the Australian army and her labourer husband - are accused of stealing sensitive Defence Force material for Kremlin intelligence and will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court today on espionage charges.

The 40-year-old woman and her 62-year-old labourer husband, who arrived in Australia together about 10 years ago, will face a Brisbane magistrate today in the first use of espionage charges introduced by the former government in 2018.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess told a press conference in Canberra on Friday morning that several countries wanted to steal Australia’s secrets.

“We cannot be naive and we cannot be complacent. Espionage is not some quaint, cold-war notion, espionage damages our economy and degrades our strategic advantage. It has catastrophic real-world consequences,” Burgess said.

https://archive.md/Q7LxW

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/married-couple-charged-with-spying-for-russia-20240712-p5jt2k.html