So, for example, targeting illegal KGB spies in Australia or diplomats who were suspected of trying to recruit people. But after a few years they started to realise that pretty much every operation that they did targeting the Russians. So he was able to basically fly under the radar. And the thing is, he was running the counter espionage unit in New South Wales, so he knew exactly where the bugs were, who they were watching, who they were tailing, who they had warrants out against. He was trained in espionage and counter-espionage and surveillance and counter-surveillance.
#Set an alarm for 13 minutes professional
Sally Neighbour: Well, this guy was a very professional operator. Sam Hawley: So how did ASIO not know that there was a mole in their midst?
Margot O'Neill: So in the intelligence world, they describe motivations as being part of an acronym, mice, which is money or ideology, or you've been compromised or ego.
Sam Hawley: So why on earth was Ian Peacock doing this? What was his motive? So, the betrayal is at a deeply personal as well as professional level. And at the same time, this guy would have been reporting on them, their personalities, their families, their friends back to Moscow. Not only was their work against the Soviets continually frustrated, but they felt like they were working for the enemy because all the details, all their secrets were being passed over. Margot O'Neill: When you think about it, and it was one of the surprises for Sally and I that they kind of feel like their careers were meaningless. Sam Hawley: So it's really upsetting for these members of ASIO who worked with this guy, isn't it, Margot? Utter frustration at realising that the best years of my life were spent working for an opponent. Sally Neighbour: What was your reaction when you learned that there was a traitor in your office, in the team that you worked on? One of them was Harry P Russell, who writes spy novels these days, and he was really quite emotional still about the impact of the betrayal on him. We spoke to some of them about the impact on them of having learned that this man was just betraying them and their country for all of these years. There's very few people even within ASIO who know this, and many will be shocked to learn who the traitor was. I mean, most people still don't know this. And we've spoken to some of his colleagues. Sam Hawley: You can really picture it, can't you? All these people, you know, really paying tribute to this man and not knowing that actually he'd been betraying them and not only them, the whole nation. That he's been spying for the Russians for the past 5 or 6 years. And all his mates gather around, all his workmates to say farewell to him because he's leaving after all this time. He was the head of Counter-espionage in New South Wales, so a senior operational role. So the guy who's leaving is called Ian George Peacock. It's, you know, it's a big deal, isn't it, Sally? There's a gathering to bid farewell to a man who served with the spy agency for 30 years.
On one given day of that year, there's a celebration at an ASIO office in Sydney. Sam Hawley: Margot and Sally, let's start this story in 1983. Today, investigative reporters Sally Neighbour and Margo O'Neil on an ASIO mole who sold our intelligence to the Russians and why our spy agency kept it secret for so long. But history tells us Australia hasn't been very good at spying on spies and knowing when our agencies have been infiltrated. Keeping our secrets safe from Moscow is vital. Sam Hawley: Hi, I'm Sam Hawley, coming to you from Gadigal Land.
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