Difference between revisions of "Harvey Barnett"
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| nationality = Australian | | nationality = Australian | ||
| occupation = Intelligence officer; intelligence director | | occupation = Intelligence officer; intelligence director | ||
| − | | known_for = Director-General of Security, [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]]<br>{{Start date|1981|9|7}} – {{Start date|1985|7|28}}<ref name="ASIOList">Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212085319/http://www.asio.gov.au/About/content/DirectorsGeneral.aspx Directors-General of Security], archived 12 February 2010, accessed 8 November 2026.</ref> | + | | known_for = Director-General of Security, [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]]<br>{{Start date|1981|9|7}} – {{Start date|1985|7|28}}<ref name="ASIOList">Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212085319/http://www.asio.gov.au/About/content/DirectorsGeneral.aspx Directors-General of Security], archived 12 February 2010, accessed 8 November 2026.</ref><br>Former [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] officer in Southeast Asia |
| education = [[University of Western Australia]]<ref name="BarnettObit" /> | | education = [[University of Western Australia]]<ref name="BarnettObit" /> | ||
| predecessor = [[Edward Woodward (born 1928)|Edward Woodward]] | | predecessor = [[Edward Woodward (born 1928)|Edward Woodward]] | ||
| + | | spouse = [[Deirdre Hartnett]] | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | [[Harvey Barnett]] led the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (ASIO) as director-general of security, from 1981 to 1985.<ref name="ASIOList" /> | + | '''[[Harvey Barnett]]''' led the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (ASIO) as director-general of security, from 1981 to 1985.<ref name="ASIOList" /> |
== Office held == | == Office held == | ||
| Line 27: | Line 28: | ||
== The Combe–Ivanov affair == | == The Combe–Ivanov affair == | ||
As head of the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]], [[Harvey Barnett]] briefed [[Bob Hawke]] in 1983 on the relationship between [[David Combe]], a former [[Australian Labor Party]] national secretary, and Soviet diplomat [[Valery Ivanov]]. [[Robert Milliken]]’s obituary describes ASIO’s concern that Combe was being cultivated for recruitment and records the subsequent expulsion of Ivanov. Milliken reported that the ensuing royal commission vindicated Barnett’s actions, while Combe’s supporters considered ASIO’s response excessive.<ref name="BarnettObit" /> | As head of the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]], [[Harvey Barnett]] briefed [[Bob Hawke]] in 1983 on the relationship between [[David Combe]], a former [[Australian Labor Party]] national secretary, and Soviet diplomat [[Valery Ivanov]]. [[Robert Milliken]]’s obituary describes ASIO’s concern that Combe was being cultivated for recruitment and records the subsequent expulsion of Ivanov. Milliken reported that the ensuing royal commission vindicated Barnett’s actions, while Combe’s supporters considered ASIO’s response excessive.<ref name="BarnettObit" /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Integration with British intelligence in Asia == | ||
| + | [[Brian Toohey]] and [[William Pinwill]] describe [[Harvey Barnett]] directing Indochinese and Thai operations within the [[Secret Intelligence Service|British Secret Intelligence Service]]’s Far East headquarters in Singapore. Fellow [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] officer [[Ian Kennison]] at one stage headed the local British station. Barnett later returned to run a separate Australian operation in Singapore. Their account illustrates the extent to which early ASIS officers worked inside British structures before establishing more distinct Australian operations.<ref name="AddOyster67to68">Brian Toohey and William Pinwill, ''Oyster: The Story of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service'', Port Melbourne: William Heinemann Australia, 1989, pp. 67–68.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Brian Toohey]] and [[William Pinwill]] also identify [[Deirdre Hartnett]], later [[Harvey Barnett]]’s wife, as a research officer in the same British section. She was the daughter of industrialist [[Laurence Hartnett]].<ref name="AddOyster67to68" /> | ||
== Memoirs == | == Memoirs == | ||
Latest revision as of 13:45, 8 November 2026
Australian security intelligence director
| Harvey Barnett
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 December 1925[1] Albany, Western Australia |
| Died | 23 June 1995[1] Melbourne |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer; intelligence director |
| Known for | Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation 7 September 1981 – 28 July 1985[2] Former Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer in Southeast Asia |
| Spouse(s) | Deirdre Hartnett |
| Education | University of Western Australia[1] |
| Predecessor | Edward Woodward |
Harvey Barnett led the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) as director-general of security, from 1981 to 1985.[2]
Office held
| Office | Start | End | Predecessor | Successor | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation | 7 September 1981 | 28 July 1985 | Edward Woodward | Alan Wrigley | [2] |
Intelligence career
Harvey Barnett served in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War and completed an arts degree at the University of Western Australia. He joined the Australian Secret Intelligence Service in the 1950s and later ran stations in Singapore, Cambodia and South Vietnam. He was its deputy director for operations from 1973 to 1976 before moving into Australian Security Intelligence Organisation leadership.[1]
The Combe–Ivanov affair
As head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Harvey Barnett briefed Bob Hawke in 1983 on the relationship between David Combe, a former Australian Labor Party national secretary, and Soviet diplomat Valery Ivanov. Robert Milliken’s obituary describes ASIO’s concern that Combe was being cultivated for recruitment and records the subsequent expulsion of Ivanov. Milliken reported that the ensuing royal commission vindicated Barnett’s actions, while Combe’s supporters considered ASIO’s response excessive.[1]
Integration with British intelligence in Asia
Brian Toohey and William Pinwill describe Harvey Barnett directing Indochinese and Thai operations within the British Secret Intelligence Service’s Far East headquarters in Singapore. Fellow Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer Ian Kennison at one stage headed the local British station. Barnett later returned to run a separate Australian operation in Singapore. Their account illustrates the extent to which early ASIS officers worked inside British structures before establishing more distinct Australian operations.[3]
Brian Toohey and William Pinwill also identify Deirdre Hartnett, later Harvey Barnett’s wife, as a research officer in the same British section. She was the daughter of industrialist Laurence Hartnett.[3]
Memoirs
After retiring, Harvey Barnett published Tale of the Scorpion in 1988. Robert Milliken interpreted it as an attempt to increase public understanding of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation without revealing major operational secrets.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Robert Milliken, Obituaries: Harvey Barnett, The Independent, 1 August 1995, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Directors-General of Security, archived 12 February 2010, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Brian Toohey and William Pinwill, Oyster: The Story of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, Port Melbourne: William Heinemann Australia, 1989, pp. 67–68.