Australia’s newly minted prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has admitted to running a private email server.
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“The answer is I can’t do it and I wouldn’t do it and I protect classified information very carefully”, he told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
“Those who do that are making the work of the police and security services, governments who seek to prevent violent extremism, much harder”, Mr Turnbull said.
The questions come after US Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was forced to apologise for her use of a private email account while she was secretary of state. Obviously all members of parliament and senators use non-government forms of communication for matters that are not classified, ‘ Mr Turnbull said.
A spokesperson has defended the practice claiming “Many MPs and Ministers use private messaging systems – including SMS, WhatsApp, Wickr, etc and private emails etc – for non-sensitive material for reasons of convenience and superior functionality”, the spokesman said.
“All communications or records of a minister which relate to his or her duties are (subject to many exemptions) potentially subject to FoI whether it is on SMS, a private email server or a government email server”, the statement said.
Both leaders were speaking a week after a veteran police accountant was gunned down in Sydney’s west by 15-year-old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar, in what Mr Turnbull described as an act of terrorism that was politically and religiously motivated.
Mr Key said he expected to discuss a range of political, economic, social and security issues with Mr Turnbull. It was previously managed by TPP Internet, which was acquired by Net Registry in 2009.
A 23-year-old refugee who became pregnant after being raped at Australia’s migrant detention centre in Nauru has pleaded with Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, to let her enter the country to have an abortion.
It is also reportedly used by his wife Lucy Turnbull and her staff.
‘Classified information can only be exchanged through government systems.
As well as security implications, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he was concerned Mr Turnbull may have circumvented freedom of information laws by using his own email account.
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“It’s important for the Prime Minister to realise that he’s the same as everyone else”.
