Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The government won't be supporting this motion. This motion calls for the release of a national assessment by the Office of National Intelligence. No such assessment by the Office of National Intelligence has ever been released publicly—none ever—and that is a precedent this government intends to honour. When the Office of National Intelligence prepare a document for the Prime Minister, that is the Prime Minister's document and it goes to him, and it is important they know that that precedent will be acknowledged and respected by the government of the day.

This government has commissioned the assessment report and has received it, as honourable members know and as I've indicated and acknowledged. The report has been discussed by the National Security Committee of the cabinet, of which I am a member. I believe I am the first Minister for Climate Change and Energy to serve on the National Security Committee of the cabinet, which is a reflection of this government's and this Prime Minister's view that climate change is a national security challenge, as well as an economic opportunity, a moral obligation, an environmental threat and everything that it is.

It is of course a national security challenge for this country and this region. Honourable members opposite referred to the Pacific: quite right. I was just in the Pacific the week before the last sitting week at the Pacific climate ministers meeting, where there was very strong engagement and interaction between this government, through me, and the climate ministers of the Pacific. Yes, it is a national security threat to them. It's also a national security threat in South-East Asia, where, in the world's largest archipelago, Indonesia, there are hundreds of millions of people living in low-lying areas. This is known.

What is also known is this government is acting. I have to disagree with the honourable member for Warringah, who said it's business as usual. It could not be further from business as usual. This government has engaged in a wholesale reform process in the last 16 months which has elevated climate policy as a signature measure of this government. After 10 years of denial and delay—which is something that the honourable members on the crossbench and this government would, I'm sure, agree on—we have increased our nationally determined target by 50 per cent and enshrined it in law, with the support of the crossbench, which we have always acknowledged and appreciated. We have engaged in a process of lifting renewable energy from 33 per cent to 82 per cent, which commentators have pointed out is the most ambitious transformation to renewable energy in the world. It is ambitious. It's also achievable. It's fashionable at the moment to say it can't be achieved. It can and will be achieved, but it is highly ambitious, as it should be. It should be both ambitious and achievable. This is the biggest economic transformation our country has undertaken since 1788. Of course there are challenges to be overcome. This government is dealing with those challenges.

My friend the New Zealand Climate Change Minister recently said publicly that the Albanese government has done as much on climate change in its first year as the Ardern government did in its first five years. That's what the New Zealand minister said, who happens also to be the leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. He pointed out that the Albanese government has done as much on climate change in its first year as the Ardern government did in its first five years. We have done a lot, but there's an enormous amount left to do. I'm pleased with what we've done in our first year, but I'm not yet satisfied, because the task is so big and the stakes are so high.

In dealing with this, yes, this government will always indicate that we acknowledge and respect the precedent that national assessments by the Office of National Intelligence have never been released and will not be released. But I will say this when it comes to transparency. As honourable members know, we passed the Climate Change Act, which had many things in it. One of the things it had in it was an obligation on me, or the minister of the day, to report annually to parliament and to release the advice from the Climate Change Authority as to progress, obstacles and the impact of government policies. I've done that once, and I'll do it again before the end of the year.

There's a national security section. I can indicate to the House that the national security section, which is unclassified, will be material and significant in this upcoming annual statement. I will provide that unclassified information to the House and the public. That's as it should be. That's a much more appropriate way of dealing with this matter. A much more appropriate way is for the government of the day to report in an open and transparent manner to parliament on progress on obstacles, including national security implications, and to do so in a way which doesn't endanger the precedent, the very clear precedent, that assessments by the Office of National Intelligence are not and will not be released—to respect that precedent but to nevertheless engage with the parliament in an open and respectful way for the annual statement to parliament, which I can indicate to the House it is certainly my intention to do.

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