(Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has brought out the big guns in his fight to swing the Nationals into supporting a 2050 net-zero commitment ahead of the Glasgow climate change summit — the “national security” card.

He made the comments in a Coalition partyroom meeting, arguing that not signing up to the target would have implications for Australia’s role in the alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom.

Bringing up national security to garner support isn’t new. While it may be framing the election with key partnerships such as AUKUS and the Quad, national security has been mentioned nearly 2000 times in the current Parliament. And not every security push carries the same weight — or serves the same purpose for the government.

Needles in strawberries

When needles appeared in strawberries across the country in 2018, it was soon deemed a national security risk by the government. Then attorney-general Christian Porter strengthened laws around the contamination of goods, increasing the penalty to 15 years and adding a clause to an espionage and foreign interference bill to cover food. 

Freedom of information rejections

Refusals for FOI requests are at an all-time high under the Coalition government. In 2019 FOI staff levels were slashed, delays increased and complaints hit record numbers. One reason a request can be refused is if the information is deemed to be “in the national security” — a vague excuse to stop embarrassing information from reaching the public.

Reporters Without Borders found Australia’s “draconian” legislation around terrorism and national security was a key factor in its slide down the World Press Freedom Index. 

Anti-encryption

In June drug charges were laid against 224 Australians after an international drug bust. US officials had created an encrypted messaging app to catch criminals. Morrison was quick to use the incident to push for a national security bill to be passed into law, arguing “future threats” to the public could be prevented only by allowing law enforcement agencies the ability to commandeer social media accounts.

It’s part of three bills before Parliament, two of which would increase police surveillance powers and which experts and politicians have criticised as an infringement on the freedoms of Australians.

COVID-19

The states’ extended lockdowns have been a key complaint of the Morrison government (not that the states are listening). In June, an emergency meeting of the national security committee took place to address the spread of COVID-19.

On the flip side of this, Morrison has been criticised for abandoning national security by not securing enough vaccines early on in the pandemic, though state and federal emergency powers were enacted throughout the crisis in the name of national security.

Domestic violence

2019 was one of the first times domestic violence was mentioned by the Coalition as a national security issue, and Morrison pledged to treat the crisis seriously. It was raised in conjunction with national defence, deterring terrorists and organised crime. Morrison noted the prevalence of violence against women within Australia and the huge impact it has on society.

Climate change?

Both the US and Australian militaries have been warning that climate change is a national security issue — but not for the reasons mentioned by Morrison. 

Rising sea levels will not only destroy navy ports and shipyards across the world — altering global strategic maps — but will cause instability in Australia’s neighbours. South-East Asia is at risk of climate-induced famine, extreme weather events and mass migration, with an average of 21.5 million people forced to move due to the impacts of extreme weather since 2008. 

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute warns the government has overlooked these risks.

“Food insecurity, population displacement and humanitarian disasters … will greatly test our national capacities, commitments and resilience,” a report notes.