ANDREW GREENE: Veil of secrecy shrouding expensive Defence failures slips a little

Australia is a proud democracy, admired across the world for its well-functioning institutions but it has a serious addiction to public secrecy.

Our very civic-minded population has over decades come to accept levels of government transparency that are often much worse than comparable Western nations.

Over recent years, Australia has also drawn negative international attention for its high-profile prosecutions of whistleblowers as well as police raids on journalists and media organisations.

But in the past week, there has been some rare, good news for the cause of increased transparency and the public’s right to know about how its government is operating and spending hard-earned taxes.

Last Wednesday, a stealth attempt to stop the publication of annual reports by the auditor-general into massive and expensive Defence department failures was rebuked by the Senate.

In early March, Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit had quietly posted online that it had decided “not to request the Department of Defence and Australian National Audit Office continue to produce the (ANAO’s) Major Projects Report.”

For a department already renowned for its extreme secrecy, this decision seemed to represent the death-knell for any remaining transparency and accountability. Respected former official Marcus Hellyer was particularly scathing of his former organisation, writing that “transparency around Australia’s Department of Defence died, or more accurately, was executed”.

“Why the publication of information that had routinely been released for years would now damage security was not explained other than the lazy default that the world is now more dangerous,” he pondered online.

“But it’s hard to see why the People’s Liberation Army would change its plans and intentions towards Australia based on the knowledge that the schedule for (the) third and final Hunter class frigate entering service had moved from 2036 to 2037.”

He argues that both the Parliament and the public, i.e., the people who pay for the Australian Defence Force to defend them, have a right to know in these dangerous times whether their $60 billion per year taxpayer-funded expenditure is actually delivering the necessary capabilities and military power.

To the relief of Hellyer and others who believe transparency can actually help an organisation to improve, the Senate passed a motion on Wednesday demanding the immediate reinstatement of the Major Projects Report.

Ultimately, the motion brought on from the Greens and Independent senator David Pocock carried with the support of Labor and the Coalition, despite committee members from the two major parties moving to kill the Auditor-General’s reports just weeks earlier.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy was among some Labor figures who appeared miffed at the original move, given he has long cited Australian National Audit Office’s work, particularly to highlight Coalition failings when he was in Opposition.

“I’ve always supported there being as much transparency as possible in relation to government decisions, particularly in relation to Defence projects, and that remains the case,” Conroy told The West Australian after the Senate’s vote to reinstate the ANAO reports into Defence projects.

“I welcome the fact this motion was passed and would like to see the major projects report continue. Ultimately, that’s a matter for the committee.”

It remains to be seen if the ANAO reports will be permanently reinstated after the Senate’s determination, but it appears the Major Projects Reports will continue despite concerns the Auditor-General does not have enough resources or co-operation from Defence to uncover the true extent of problems.

Shortly after the Senate’s motion on Defence scrutiny there was another small but not insignificant win for transparency.

On Thursday the Albanese Government introduced legislation which the Attorney-General claims “will significantly reduce the number of Commonwealth secrecy provisions and improve protections for press freedom”.

“The Government’s secrecy reforms deliver significant improvements to the Criminal Code that ensure our laws protect what must remain confidential,” Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said.

Rowland stressed the Government believes a “strong and independent media is vital to democracy and holding governments to account”, and said the legislation delivered crucial new protections for public interest journalism.

“Importantly, these reforms deliver meaningful improvements to Australia’s secrecy laws, and build on the Government’s longstanding commitment to transparency and integrity.”

Many will rightly question whether this Government, and the Coalition governments which preceded it actually are committed to transparency, but at least this was at last a step in the right direction.