Far from the football festivities, a growing debate in Australia is raising uncomfortable questions about transparency. The AUKUS submarine deal — the trilateral defence pact between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom — carries an eye-watering price tag of A$368 billion. Commentators in both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are arguing that such an enormous commitment demands public scrutiny, not secrecy. “Secrecy in policy development is rarely justified — and it certainly isn’t for AUKUS,” the papers argued, calling on the government to open up about the programme’s trajectory, costs, and strategic assumptions.
Walter Murrow
June 13, 2026
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