Aussie FM may have inadvertently let partner view 'highly sensitive' material

Australian Foreign Minister (FM) Julie Bishop may have inadvertently allowed her partner to view "highly sensitive" documents by inviting him onto the floor of a United Nations (UN) meeting in New York last year.

In September 2015, Bishop caused a stir back home in Australia when property developer and long-time partner David Panton was permitted to sit alongside her during the Sustainable Development Summit.

The Australian media initially criticized Bishop on the grounds it may have breached UN protocol. But on Wednesday a report surfaced suggesting Panton may have also gazed on sensitive documents while sitting alongside the foreign minister.

Photos of the pair seated together clearly show Panton sitting in front of a white folder, which a former senior diplomat told News Corp would have definitely contained "personal details" about diplomats and world leaders.

The source said the information, gathered by Australian authorities, could be "reasonably expected to endanger life or physical safety" if it fell into the wrong hands.

Labor frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite said Bishop had "serious questions" to answer if her actions led to a breach of private, politically-sensitive information.

"As Australia's chief diplomat, the foreign minister has access to highly sensitive material, the handling of which requires the utmost discretion and professionalism," Thistlethwaite told News Corp on Wednesday.

A spokeswomen for Bishop said on Wednesday the folder was "for the foreign minister's use" only, and denied that Panton was "provided with any classified documents at any time".

However, the photograph shows the secretive folder open to a page with images and information regarding UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as well as UNICEF goodwill ambassador and Colombian singer Shakira Mebarak.

The material did not carry a formal national-security classification, but DFAT has rejected public access to the document.

Source: XINHUA