"It undermines potentially our sovereignty, our security and our prosperity. Foreign actors covertly attempt to influence and shape the views of members of the Australian public, the Australian media and officials in the Australian government, as well as members of the diaspora communities here in Australia." Mr Lewis — a highly respected former national security advisor and former head of the Department of Defence — said espionage and foreign interference could have an immediate impact but in some cases "the harm doesn’t materialise for years and potentially for decades". "This is not a theoretical proposition," he said. "The reality is that acts of espionage and foreign interference are occurring against Australian interests, both in Australia and overseas. "Foreign actors from a range of countries are seeking to access privileged and/or classified information on Australia’s alliances and our partnerships, our position on international diplomatic, economic, and military issues, on our energy, on our mineral resources and our innovations in science and technology." Mr Lewis was later asked a series of questions about Liberal MP Andrew Hastie's use of parliamentary privilege on Tuesday to accuse billionaire political donor Chau Chak Wing of involvement in the bribery of a former United Nations president. Dr Chau has strongly denied the allegations.

Mr Hastie said he had received the information during briefings from US authorities during a recent visit by members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to Washington. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The decision to publicly name the prominent political donor threatened to worsen already strained ties between Australia and Beijing, and ignited political tensions in Canberra. Labor's shadow attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, said going public with the US information was "obviously a concern" and claimed it "potentially leads to some loss of confidence in our ally". Mr Lewis said he had not discussed the speech with Mr Hastie before it was delivered, but revealed a junior officer at the spy agency did have a "speculative conversation" with the Liberal MP. "There was no approach to ASIO formally to apply for clearance for what was said," Mr Lewis said of Mr Hastie, who chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

When asked what impact Mr Hastie's actions had had on the relationship between Australia and foreign intelligence partners, Mr Lewis replied: "None". Mr Lewis also urged Parliament to pass the Turnbull government's proposed foreign interference laws, which have stoked the ire of China. While the government says the crackdown is not aimed at any country, experts widely agree Beijing is the biggest concern. Loading Mr Lewis again noted the "grim reality" there are more foreign intelligence officers now than during the Cold War. "While we should always treat the lessons of history carefully, I note that Cold War foes were relatively unambiguous, they had clear nation state objectives, underpinned by strong ambitions, but they did at the time have more limited technology than is available today," Mr Lewis said.