Australia's highest court upholds foreign interference law

Australia’s highest court has rejected a challenge to foreign interference laws in a case that involved a U.S. conservative political organization and free speech arguments

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia’s highest court on Wednesday rejected a challenge to foreign interference laws in a case that involved a U.S. conservative political organization and free speech arguments. China has condemned the laws introduced in 2018 that are widely seen as a means of preventing covert Chinese interference in Australian politics, universities and other institutions. People working on behalf of a foreign powers have to be publicly registered with the Attorney-General’s Department in the interests of transparency. But LibertyWorks Inc., an Australian libertarian think tank, objected to having to register while working on communications for the American Conservative Union ahead of conferences held in Australia. LibertyWorks promotes the American group's annual political conferences.