Uren served as a diplomat in Beijing and Washington for the Australian government. He also served as an assistant director for the Office of National Assessments (ONA) until his resignation in 2001, where he would go on to join
Phoenix Television, eventually serving as the company's Vice President of International Affairs. Uren is also an author. He has previously published his work under the
pen name John Byron.
Investigation Uren and his wife
Sheri Yan were investigated by the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) on suspicion of spying for China. Yan was suspected of undertaking influence operations on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, and introducing Colonel
Liu Chaoying, a
military intelligence officer, to Australian contacts. Uren, a former Assistant Secretary responsible for the Asia section of ONA, was found to have removed documents pertaining to Chinese intelligence operations in Australia, and kept them in his apartment. In September 2020, Uren plead guilty to three charges of unauthorized dealing with records. He avoided jail time but was required to pay a $7000 fine. Although it was legal to possess the documents at the time, Uren's actions became illegal in 2014 amid changes to Australia's national security legislation. Character references of Uren were read to the court from
Geoff Raby (former Australian ambassador to China),
Thomas Keneally (Australian novelist), and Greg Rudd (brother of former Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd). Praise from former Australian Prime Minister
John Howard and US President
George W. Bush were included among the character references. ==Bibliography==