MILITARY SECRETS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24835, 7 February 1942, Page 6

MILITARY SECRETS

BROADCAST BY TOKIO AUSTRALIAN UE^KAGE SPY HUNT LAUNCHED (Rec. 0.50 a.m.) CANBERRA, Feb. ft It was officially stated to-day that the Federal Government is seriously concerned about ithe nature of some of the recent broadcasts from Tokio, which have given details of recent incidents which have in Australia. A spy hunt throughout the nation has been launched in. an endeavour to find out how this is happening. * ■**"■■* 3 -i ■.•>■'■>;■/,''. ■ •■".' ■'■■ The gravamen of the, complaint is that items which have'neither been broadcast nor published in Australia have been broadcast from Tokio. Some of the items are of direct military importance. • : ■; ■■' The Prime Minister, Mr Curtm, it si reported, is taking a close personal ; interestrin-the hunt. The authorities suspect that portable transmitting stations have been set up in bush outposts, and with the Japanese as close to Australia as Ra'baul these sets would not need to be particularly powerful for messages to be '. picked up there for retransmission to T6kib : - ■'--"■ '•'•'*■-■?'■?■?■'■■ - It is stated, that within a. few hours of their occurrence here; incidents of news which has beert ■ kept.; from the Australian public for security reasons, aire being broadcast flagrantly by ..Tokio. The Commonwealth,; Govern'ment'" is 'deliberately allowing its uneasiness about; the matter become known in order to secure public cooperation in tracing the spies.