February 14, 2024
Hundreds of Chinese-made surveillance cameras are still being used in the local offices of Victorian state MPs one year after a federal government purge over espionage fears.
Government documents seen by The Age reveal more than 80 electorate offices across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria have at least one Hikvision camera installed. The devices have been banned from government buildings in America and the United Kingdom.
Hikvision is subject to China’s controversial national security laws, which require businesses to hand over data to local intelligence services if requested. The company has also been implicated in Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
The Department of Finance revealed in February last year that it had begun removing Hikvision cameras from federal MPs’ local offices.
State government tender documents released last week have called for security contractors to express interest in installing new cameras in Victorian electorate offices. A shortlist of possible contractors will be compiled by early April, according to the documents, with the work to be completed over a 15-week period.
“The project comprises the replacement of existing CCTV camera systems in 89 electorate offices, which generally comprise four internal and three external cameras,” the documents states. “The electorate offices to be upgraded will be located throughout Victoria.”
State MPs’ electorate offices are located in their local seat, not parliament, and are routinely visited by constituents and community stakeholders who wish to raise concerns or seek help from a parliamentary representative.
Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) secretary Trish Burrows confirmed the DPS was in the process of procuring a security contractor to install new security systems.
“The works include replacing and upgrading CCTV cameras and ancillary equipment, and commissioning the same to provide greater efficiencies in system operation, data management, storage and effectiveness,” Burrows said.
The Age asked what brand of CCTV camera will replace the Hikvision devices, and exactly how many devices are part of the electorate office fleet, but Burrows declined to provide further information, citing the integrity of the procurement process.
A Hikvision spokesperson said the company’s commitment to Australian laws and regulations remained “steadfast and unchanged”. The company has previously said it is false to suggest it is a national security risk.
Liberal Senator James Paterson accused the state government of dragging its feet.
“It is extraordinary that 12 months after the federal government took the right decision to rip out thousands of high-risk CCTV cameras from authoritarian vendors … the Victorian government is only now getting around to doing so,” Paterson said.
“There’s absolutely no excuse for these delays and inaction, which have exposed the Victorian community to unnecessary cybersecurity and privacy risks. The Allan government should urgently explain what took them so long and when they finally plan to have every one of these unsafe products out of Victorian government sites.”
A Victorian government spokeswoman said DPS is responsible for electorate offices. The Andrews government confirmed in February last year that it was conducting an audit of all security cameras at government-owned buildings and precincts.
Michael Shoebridge, the founder of defence think tank Strategic Analysis Australia, said it was important to understand that China does not just seek to influence national governments.
“In Australia, the federal level is the highest priority, but they did have a lot of success with the previous Victorian government to sign up to the former Belt and Road initiative,” Shoebridge said. “That tells you what Victorian MPs say and do matters to Beijing and its intelligence agencies.
“So having … Chinese cameras sprinkled across the offices of Victorian state MPs is just a free gift.”
Belt and Road is a $1.5 trillion global infrastructure initiative made up of railways, ports, roads, power stations and other projects co-funded and mostly built by China.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was blindsided when the Andrews government announced in October 2019 that Victoria had signed up to the initiative. That led the Morrison government to enact new national interest laws and veto the Victorian government’s decision.
Victoria Police has pledged to replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of 2024. Some regional councils use Hikvision cameras in their office buildings or street safety fleets, but not the City of Melbourne.
Dr Malcolm Davis, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was surprising that Victoria hadn’t acted sooner. “Twelve months is not fast enough,” Davis said. “Hikvision cameras are a threat. A lot of these cameras have facial recognition technology.”
The Australian Cyber Security Centre has warned that a “critical” vulnerability has been identified in certain Hikvision products.
“This vulnerability could allow a cyber actor to take full control of the vulnerable device,” the centre’s website states. “Australian owners should, if possible, prevent such devices from being accessed from anywhere on the internet.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, has previously accused Australia of discriminating against Chinese products – despite Beijing having taken steps to purge foreign-made CCTV devices.
