Axis of Deceit: The Extraordinary Story of an Australian Whistleblower

In the 2010 federal election, independent candidate Andrew Wilkie grabbed headlines after winning the seat of Denison, and with it a key role in deciding who would form the next government of Australia. Before he was a politician, however, Wilkie was Australia’s most talked-about whistleblower.



In March 2003, Wilkie resigned from Australia’s peak intelligence agency in protest over the looming war in Iraq. He was the only serving intelligence officer from the ‘coalition of the willing’ – the US, the UK and Australia – to do so, and his dramatic move was reported throughout the world.



Wilkie’s act of conscience put him on a collision course with the Australian government. Why was he willing to risk his career and reputation to tell the truth? What happened when he decided to take a stand? In Axis of Deceit, Wilkie tells his story. He exposes how governments skewed, spun and fabricated intelligence advice. And he offers a rare glimpse into the world of international intelligence and life as a spook. With a brand-new preface, this is the fascinating inside story of a man now set to play a pivotal role in our public life.



“impressive” – the Canberra Times



“a glimpse into the world of a modern spy” – the Age



“a clear-eyed treatise on how the coalition of the willing conned the public about its motives for war” – the Sydney Morning Herald



Andrew Wilkie is the author of Axis of Deceit. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Australian Defence Force before he joined the Office of National Assessments as a senior strategic analyst. After leaving ONA, he gave evidence at the official British and Australian inquiries into the case for the Iraq war. He contested John Howard’s seat of Bennelong for the Greens in the 2004 federal election. In 2010 he stood successfully as an independent for the federal seat of Denison in Tasmania.