Normal text size
Very large text size
In 2010 an Australian businessman, Peter Mason, was sitting in his Sydney office when the phone rang. He didnât know that he was about to have a conversation with a spy heâd never met. It was a story he would be telling for years to come.
Australiaâs then director-general of security, the formal title of ASIOâs chief, introduced himself. David Irvine proceeded to invite Mason to a one-on-one lunch. Mason is very well known in corporate Australia. After a career in investment banking, he chaired establishment institutions including AMP and David Jones, became a trustee at the Sydney Opera House Trust, and is on the board of Optusâs parent company, Singtel. He wasnât hard up for a lunch invitation. But heâd never had anything to do with ASIO. He suspected it was a prank call.
Upgrading Australia’s communications network meant our national security experts had to get to grips with tech titan Huawei’s ties to the Chinese government. A ban would infuriate Chinese leaders. The alternative was worse.