An Australian politician's home was raided amid allegations that Chinese government agents have infiltrated the country

• An Australian politician is being suspended from his party as security officials investigate alleged links to the Chinese government.
• Authorities raided the home of Shaoquett Moselmane, a state politician from the opposition Labor party, on Friday.
• The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australia's domestic security agency, ASIO, is conducting a broad investigation into allegations that Chinese government agents have infiltrated Moselmane's office.
• The Labor leader said the allegations were 'dreadfully concerning.'

Australian officials are conducting a sweeping investigation into allegations that Chinese government agents have infiltrated the office of an Australian politician, according to media reports.

Officials from the Australian Security Intelligence Agency (ASIO) raided the home of Shaoquett Moselmane, a state politician in the opposition Labor party, on Thursday. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, officers were searching for evidence to support allegations of a Chinese government plot on Australian soil.

ASIO is Australia's domestic security and anti-espionage agency.

Jodi McKay, the Labor leader, has confirmed that Moselmane will be suspended from the party and said that reports the raids were linked to allegations of Chinese government interference were "dreadfully concerning."

If the allegations prove to be founded, the Herald reported, the investigation could result in the world's first prosecution for foreign interference offences arising from a covert Chinese Communist Party plot to influence a foreign politician.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said he could not comment on the investigation in detail but said it had been "going on for some time."

"The government is absolutely determined to ensure that nobody interferes with Australia's activities," he said.

"We will stand up to it. And we will take action, as what you've seen today demonstrates."

Higher threat 'than it was at the height of the Cold War'

One of the country's most senior spy chiefs warned earlier this year that Australia was under "unprecedented threat" from foreign espionage, and said foreign agents were making concerted efforts to influence politicians, government officials, and business leaders.

"The level of threat we face from foreign espionage and interference activities is currently unprecedented," said Mike Burgess, ASIO's director-general in February, according to a Reuters report.

"It is higher now, than it was at the height of the Cold War."

An official told Reuters that Burgess had likely been referring principally to China in his comments.

Australia's largest trading partner is China. Burgess said is of particular interest to China because of its strategic location as well as its alliances.

Its membership of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing community, which also comprises the US, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand, may make it a particularly valuable target for hostile foreign espionage.