For two years the Albanese government has been sitting on a ‘Whole of Nation Climate Security Report’ they themselves commissioned from the Office of National Security. In my opinion they have refused to release even a declassified version because it would be too frightening – for them and for us – and because climate is in their ‘too hard basket’.
Meanwhile as Prof Jenny Hocking and David Bradbury tell us (Echo, August 28), they divert our fears towards China, thus justifying the ridiculous decision to spend at least $350 billion on nuclear submarines.
We can’t tackle climate change until we see clearly the power and influence of the intertwined systems of governance, defence, fossil fuel industries, media, finance and even education that support them.
The AUKUS submarines are only the tip of Australia’s political-military-industrial iceberg – or should that be ‘heatberg’?
As retired Admiral Chris Barrie from the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group says, the furore about Chin is being stoked by a group of national security influencers who receive benefits from the arms, oil, and gas industries.
The government intends to make Australia a global weapons-making powerhouse. We already have over 250 private military manufacturing and exporting companies in full swing, exporting over $5 billion worth of military equipment per year.
The Australian Defence Forces are responsible of 66 per cent of the climate emissions of all the government departments.
According to the International Panel on Climate Change report, the world’s militaries now produce over six per cent of the world’s emissions. That is very slightly less than the emissions of all of India. This data was collected before the Russia/Ukraine war, and whatever we call the horrors we are now seeing in Gaza and the Left Bank.
The humanitarian and environmental costs are beyond calculation. The profits for the arms manufacturers and dealers are beyond imagination.
Their nasty trade will be on display in Melbourne September 11–13 at the 2024 International Land Defence Exposition. Their website says this expo ‘is the premier platform for interaction between defence, industry, and government of all levels, to meet, do business and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the global land defence markets.’
Elbit, Lockheed, Boeing, Thales, Hanwha, and many more of the biggest weapons manufacturers in the world will be there, along with military bosses, Australian Defence Ministry personnel and hundreds of smaller suppliers trying to get a piece of this lucrative and climate destructive pie.
Are you feeling safe? Will this help our embattled communities prepare for or recover from climate disasters?
Anti-war and climate activists, including some from the Northern Rivers, will be coming together in Melbourne 8-14 September to ‘disrupt land forces’. For further info or to join them see https://disruptlandforces.org.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
