The prime minister’s department has suggested the book that revealed Scott Morrison’s secret ministries may contain confidential cabinet information.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC) said it had referred the possible leak to the attorney general’s department to consider whether “relevant criminal provisions” have been breached. But the attorney general’s department subsequently said the matter was not being referred to the police.
Plagued, which was written by Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers and revealed how Morrison appointed himself to multiple ministries in his government, also contains details of deliberations of Australia’s national security committee (NSC) of cabinet.
These include discussions about the government’s approach to dealing with China, the decision-making process behind closing Australia’s borders in early 2020, and discussions around Australia’s defence posture.
The book details comments made by Morrison at a meeting of the NSC in April 2020, in which tensions with China were discussed.
“Don’t doubt China’s capacity and will to exploit Covid-19,” Morrison told the meeting, according to the book.
In a later meeting of the NSC on 20 April 2020, “Morrison took a decision to up the ante with Beijing”, telling the meeting “the time had come to be more strident in its language about China’s conduct”.
“‘We need multiple points of pushback on this increasing aggression,’ he told them.”
On Friday PMC’s first assistant secretary, John Reid, said the department had reviewed the book and information in it “to determine its accuracy or otherwise”.
“We’ve referred that information to the attorney general’s department,” he told Senate estimates.
“Our conclusions were it certainly appears to reveal information that was, until it was revealed, cabinet material, and would ordinarily have been protected under the principle of cabinet confidentiality.”
Reid explained it had been referred to the attorney general’s department because it administers the “relevant criminal provisions” relating to disclosure of protected information.
“Any action taken in relation to this would be within their purview,” Reid said. Asked if PMC would cooperate with any criminal investigation he replied: “Absolutely.”
“Obviously, governments have generally observed the strong convention that cabinet deliberations such as those do and should remain confidential,” he said.
“[But] it is a matter for the prime minister of the day to decide that various information ought to be released.”
The attorney general’s department said it was “aware of allegations” the book revealed details of cabinet deliberations and had provided advice to PMC “on the scope of offences that apply to the unauthorised disclosure of security classified information”.
“The department is not an investigative agency and has not referred the matter to any other agency,” a spokesperson said.
Leaks from cabinet are not rare occurrences and the handbook on cabinet confidentiality actually addresses “authorised leaks” by members of the government to garner favourable publicity.
But leaks from the NSC are much rarer and go against longstanding political convention, although laws related to such leaks specifically require the information communicated to be “inherently harmful” for an offence to have been committed.
Labor senator Tony Sheldon said he had a “great deal of concern” about the apparent leak, praising PMC officials for referring it.
In September, Labor’s chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, Peter Khalil, said he was “absolutely concerned” by the apparent leak.
Dr Keiran Hardy, senior lecturer at Griffith University’s school of criminology and criminal justice, said one “could make the academic argument” the apparent leaks breached laws, but in practice they would not be prosecuted as they were “part and parcel of politics and journalism”.
“What it does show is the very evident double standards, that governments are happy to support prosecution of whistleblowers … but when it comes to their own interests to release information, for example that they’re strong on China, they can play by their own rules and put some of that information out there to benefit themselves.”
On 20 September the Australian federal police told Guardian Australia no referral had been made at that time.
Guardian Australia sent questions to Morrison’s office regarding alleged leaks from the NSC meetings.
