US signals intelligence is also described as "absolutely critical" to Australia's diplomatic campaign to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council. "Wi

US signals intelligence is also described as "absolutely critical" to Australia's diplomatic campaign to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council. "Without intelligence support, overwhelmingly provided by US capabilities, we would not have won the seat," one Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officer recently said. Spying on other countries is something Australians want our government to do when it can't be avoided, not just because they can and Stalin did worse. Doing it to win an election is wrong. Here's another reason to make these activities as transparent as possible: it's obvious to everyone in Australia, except for Kevin Rudd and a few DSD agents, that we have always gained more by not doing things like this than we could possibly gain from some diplomat sitting on a committee in New York.