Australia's intelligence boss says he cannot release files related to the Balibo massacre of five journalists - including a New Zealander - because his agency is too busy.
The 'Balibo Five' are buried together in Jakarta Photo: AFP
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) director-general Paul Symon fronted the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to respond to a request for 40-year-old intelligence files on East Timor and Indonesia that cover the period of the Balibo massacre.
New Zealand cameraman Gary Cunningham and four other Australian-based journalists were killed by Indonesian forces in 1975 in the town of Balibo.
The application for the highly-classified papers has come from Canberra-based academic Clinton Fernandes, who has battled since 2014 for access to ASIS intelligence reports on the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
During his hour-long appearance, Mr Symon was quizzed over why it had taken ASIS several months to respond to questions from the National Archives.
He explained that in a "disruptive" world his intelligence agency faced many competing pressures and he had to prioritise various tasks and challenges for his staff.
Speaking outside the tribunal, Mr Symon rejected suggestions his organisation was trying to keep secret its knowledge of the events leading up to Indonesia's invasion and the deaths of the Balibo Five.
"It's not the issue that we won't release documents, we are working through a process and that's what I'm here discussing with the tribunal," Mr Symon said.
"It's a pity that its been characterised that we are withholding documents."
Gary Cunningham's brother Greg Cunningham said he and other Balibo relatives had already waited too long for answers.
"All we need is the truth," Mr Cunningham said.
"We are not after justice in the respect of vengeance to hang people up or anything like that. We just want to be told what happened.
"After 43 years, we're entitled to that and I expect it".
But Mr Symon said he did not accept that his organisation was taking too long to release the historic records.
"The process requires my staff to work through those records line by line and to make sure we don't release information that is adverse to our own national interests, that's my responsibility," he said.
"This is not a desire to withhold, this is a desire to make sure I can manage all that the government asks of the Secret Intelligence Service and balance those priorities against all the other administrative, management, operational issues I've got to manage."
-ABC
