Movie Plot: Albanese attempts to become Australian dictator after China-US war but it does not go to plan!

Characters at time of the War:

Prime Minister Albanese; Defence Minister Marles; Foreign Affairs Minister Wong; Treasurer Chalmers; Attorney-General Dreyfus; PM’s Chief-of-Staff Gartrell; Secretary of Department of PM&C Davis; Secretary of Treasury Kennedy; Minister of Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Conroy; Luke Gosling; Tanya Plibersek; Mike Burgess of ASIO. Journalists Greg Sheridan, David Speers, Cameron Stewart and Nick McKenzie. Premiers: NSW Minns, Vic Allan, Qld Miles, WA Cook, Tas Rockliff, SA Malinauskas.

Scene 32: National Cabinet Meeting

Marles: “There are too many foreign-orchestrated people and on-line sites attacking our alliance with the US and in particular AUKUS. Our intelligence and national security officials believe that this activity needs to be restricted. Thus, I am proposing that we take action to block such sites.”

Minns: “This is extreme. People will still be able to use VPNs to access commentary on overseas sites.”

Marles: “Yes. One option is to make it illegal to use VPNs but this is probably impractical. In any case, most English language foreign sites – and specifically those in the US and the UK – are very supportive of AUKUS.”

Allan: “This is not China, so talk of outlawing VPNs is inappropriate.”

Marles: “In any case, Commonwealth agencies will not be disclosing any information about AUKUS in the future.”

Malinauskas: “Does that include to parliamentary committee?”

Marles: “Yes.”

Malinauskas: “Good!”

Scene 33: Parliamentary Press Gallery

Stewart: “Elon Musk has been released. There are suggestions that he has cut a deal to censor some tweets on X.”

Sheridan: “The AUKUS website is still down.”

Speers: “If the US is getting into censorship you can be sure Australia will be worse – along with the UK!”

Scene 34: Public Service Office

Davis: “Over a billion dollars? How”

Kennedy: “Whatever Marles now says, goes! Chalmers – who has now also become Minister of Finance – signed off on it. I called Moriarty but he seemed to have no real idea what the money was for; just payment for some AUKUS related services.”

Davis shakes his head: “Sounds a bit like Whitlam’s Khemlani!”

Kennedy: “The company has an internet site, but it says nothing. Appears to be based in Cyprus.”

Scene 35: Cambodia

McKenzie is in Phnom Penh to meet the person – ie the broker  – who had called him, and is directed to go to a “girly bar” on Street 136.

McKenzie: “You are the broker or John?”

John: “John. But I do know about The Broker. That’s why I called you saying I was The Broker. I don’t have long to live. Only weeks. Cancer. So I will get straight to the point.”

McKenzie: “I am sorry. Your accent is clearly Australian.”

John: “I was living in Moscow in the mid-1990s and helped some young computer whiz-kids with their English. One day they floated am imaginary idea to help people who wanted someone beaten to find someone to do it. This would not have been difficult to do at the time but these guys wanted to create a an computer program to do it online. I jokingly suggested that they call it The Broker. But they were not joking and they did it. They made money and even seemed to think they were providing a good public service – which they were in some cases. One of them ended up in jail but another became a very rich high-profile businessman. The Broker business seemed to fade out in the early Putin and Medvedev years, but I hear that is back in, or still in business – and bigger than before!”

McKenzie: “How is this relevant for me?”

John: “The Broker has become international. Want somebody threatened, beaten or killed and they will find someone to do it – including in Australia!”

McKenzie: “How to people contact these people if they want someone threatened, killed, or whatever?”

John: “Ah! This is the main point. You cannot find or contact The Broker. They find you! They now use sophisticated internet search engines and algorithms to identify possible clients and then offer a service – and if you accept, they will identify a service provider. But the client and service provider will never meet or even be able to identify each other.”

McKenzie: “Interesting. But this is not my field. I am more into corruption and public misdeeds.”

John: “Let me continue. The Broker still needs to find people on the ground and this can be sometimes problematic. Some years ago they found a guy in Australia – ex-SAS – and gave him some work. Killed several people. They still use him, but he is a bit mentally unbalanced and a little unpredictable.”

McKenzie: “You have names of people killed?”

John: “Gartrell. The former chief-of-staff from Anthony Albanese.”

McKenzie: “You have proof?

John: “I will tell you no more, except that whoever commissioned this job with The Broker is now under pressure to pay-up. This is my last attempt to do something for Australia. Thanks for coming. Goodbye!”

McKenzie: “One last question. Why are you in Cambodia?”

John smiles and looks toward a man sitting nearby: “My jail-bird friend from Moscow owns this bar!”

Scene 36: Office of Foreign Minister

Wong and Drefyus discuss the McKenzie article about “The Broker”.

Wong: “Who would benefit from killing Gartrell? It doesn’t make sense. The name sounds so casual – like buying and selling shares on the stock-market.”

Dreyfus shrugs his shoulders, then he remembers something: “Someone has tried to contact Marles by calling my office. Said he was ‘the broker’. I assumed Marles was buying or selling shares.”

Wong: “He has never mentioned the stock-market to me.”

Dreyfus: “Me either!”

Scene 37: A Park in Canberra

Davis, Kennedy and Dreyfus have confidential meeting with Burgess.

Davis: “So this is what we have. US Treasury have investigated financial flows related to The Broker as part of their sanctions on Russia. The company in Cyprus that we have paid a billion dollar to is not, as far as we can tell, directly linked to The Broker but the Cyprus company has some links to some former American security officials including Mike Pompeo who was both director of the CIA and Secretary of State.”

Kennedy: “But that still does no explain why Marles was so keen for this payment to be made.”

Davis: “Australia has paid a billion dollars to Americans supposedly for services related to AUKUS. Or, was it for something else?”

Burgess: “As far as we can tell there is no connection between the Cyprus company and the prime minister.”

Scene 38: Office of Foreign Minister

Wong: Anthony (Albanese), I am worried about you. Mark (Dreyfus) is too. He has always admired you so much. Is there anything we can do for you?”

Albanese: “I have made so many mistakes, betrayed so many people.”

Wong: “You never betrayed me when I needed you. I have always been so thankful for that.”

Albanese: “You keep saying that, but I do not know what you mean.”

Wong: “When you protected me from the allegations that I was a Chinese spy. When ASIO wanted to have me arrested.”

Albanese: “I never heard of these allegations. Who told you?”

Wong: “Marles.”

Albanese: “It’s nonsense!”

Wong: “Marles said ….”

Albanese: “Marles is a liar and a thug. He helped me once when I had a problem and I felt gratitude. But he took advantage of that and did things which I thought were to help me, but were really to help him.”

Wong: “You mean the car crash when you were drunk?”

Albanese: “How do you know about that?”

Wong: “I heard rumours. That’s when Marles told me how you had protected me from ASIO. Told me that I owed you and should say nothing.”

Albanese starts to cry: “He killed Gartrell.”

Wong: “What do you mean?”

Albanese: “Gartrell never took drugs. Marles had him killed.”

Wong: “Are you serious?”

Albanese says nothing and continues to cry.

 Scene 39: Prime Minister’s Office

Wong and Dreytfus confront Marles.

Wong: “We are sorry to have to have this conversation with you, but there are just too many strange things that have happened.”

Dreyfus: “Albanese has suggested that you are connected to death of Gartrell and the Mostyn issue. Your payment of one billion dollars seems to be connected to former American security and diplomatic officials, but we still cannot understand why it was necessary. And then there is The Broker organization – which seems to fit in here somewhere.”

Marles: “What do you want me to say. What are you implying?”

Wong: “We would just feel more comfortable if you were not prime minister. Some senior public service officials feel the same way.”

Dreyfus: “There are some investigations still underway, and at the same time the situation in Australia and the world are so perilous that a prime minister cannot afford to be distracted by internal – and what might be criminal – investigations.”

Scene 40: National Cabinet Meeting

Wong: “Richard (Marles) resignation is due to some sudden health issues. I propose that national cabinet continue to operate as before but suggest that we need to soften some of our approaches – both within Australia and internationally.”

Malinauskas: “And what about AUKUS?”

Wong: “We need to have a closer look at exactly where we are on this and where it is going. There seem to be some much discussed of problems on the UK aspect.”

Cook: “And exports to China?”

Wong: “We are also looking at that issue.”

Scene 41: Public Service Office

Davis: “Marles is heading to New Zealand as our High Commissioner. He cannot do much damage there and will be within easy reach if the investigators need him. Wong says he seems very scared, and seems to be hoping that the investigations will lapse if he is not PM.”

Kennedy: “This Broker organization. Could it have been involved in setting-up Mostyn?”

Davis: “ASIO did that investigation.”

Kennedy: “OK! So far so good. Time for a whisky!!”