Fess up on climate

July 28, 2026

Jeremy Rose reminds us that Senator David Pocock described the unreleased 2022 climate threat assessment by the Office of National Intelligence as “terrifying”. In August 2023, former Chief of the Defence Force Admiral Chris Barrie joined Pocock and others in urging the government to release the report, warning Australians were being denied “an open and transparent conversation about the big issues of risk”.

The Centre for Public Integrity has argued that the Albanese government’s frequent use of “public interest immunity” claims makes it even more secretive than the Morrison government. Disturbingly, compliance with Senate orders for document production has fallen from 92 per cent in 1993–96 to just 20 per cent under the current administration.

As Rose notes, the government has no hesitation in talking up the risks posed by China to justify a massive increase in military spending. Yet Barrie has repeatedly said climate change poses “a bigger risk to Australia than China’s rapid military build-up”.

The real losers in this cover-up are Australians, who are being kept in the dark while billions are spent preparing for one threat and downplaying another. The government should justify its secrecy or end it.