CANBERRA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government will ban foreign donations to Australian political parties, it was announced on Monday.
In addition to banning foreign donations, new laws targeting spies and foreign interference will be introduced, it will be made a crime to support foreign intelligence agencies and laws that ban the disclosure of classified information will be made stricter.
The sweeping changes come after Attorney-General George Brandis carried out a review of Australia's counter-intelligence laws.
The laws have been loosely modelled on the United States' foreign agents registration act. A, similar to one that already exists in the U.S., will be established.
Brandis said threat of political interference by foreign intelligence services was "a problem of the highest order and it is getting worse."
"In May this year the prime minister asked me to lead a comprehensive review of Australia's foreign interference laws," he said in a media release on Monday.
"It was the most significant review of foreign interference laws ever undertaken. That review is now complete and legislation is ready to be introduced into the Parliament.
"The legislation will strengthen and modernize a range of offences including espionage, sabotage and treason. It will also introduce, for the first time, a range of offences criminalising acts of foreign interference.
"The government will also establish a new transparency scheme to inform the public and decision-makers of instances of foreign influence on our government and political processes. That means those who act on behalf or in the interest of foreign principals must register that fact."
