Australia to ban covert foreign interference in politics

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia’s House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved national security legislation that would ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics and make industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime.

Following the House’s passage of the bills on Tuesday, the Senate is expected to approve the legislation by Thursday with the support of the center-left Labor Party opposition.

The conservative government says the legislation, first proposed in December, is the major cause of a rift in diplomatic relations with China, Australia’s most important trading partner.

Individuals lobbying on behalf of foreign governments would have to be listed on a public register in a step toward making foreign influence in Australian politics more transparent.