Labor out of its depth on Russia

As early polling booths open on Tuesday, when more than a third of Australia’s 18 million voters are expected to begin casting their ballots before May 3, a cloud of ignorance hangs over the electorate about one of the most dangerous security issues facing the nation. On Monday, for a sixth day, Anthony Albanese refused to say whether Indonesia told him it had received a request from Russia for military access. The Prime Minister’s refusal to answer such a fundamental question sits uncomfortably with a statement last week from Russian ambassador to Jakarta Sergei Tolchenov that did not deny reports Russia was seeking to base long-range aircraft in Papua. “Military co-operation is an integral part of the ­intergovernmental relations be­tween the Russian Federation and the Republic of Indonesia,” Mr Tolchenov said.

Indonesia has told the Albanese government that reports Russian aircraft would be allowed to operate from its soil were “simply not true”. But in a good example of Indonesian strategic ambiguity, vital Australian questions are unanswered. On Thursday last week, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Rolliansyah Soemirat said Indonesia would always “receive and permit” foreign militaries on “peaceful missions”. And the Biak Island base in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province, Ben Packham and Dian Septiari wrote in Monday’s paper, would become a hive of Russian activity under an agreement with Moscow’s space agency to establish a joint satellite launch facility there. The head of Indonesia’s ­National Research and Innovation Agency announced in ­December 2024 that the country was collaborating with Roscosmos Space Corporation and its launch subsidiary, Glavkosmos, to develop the commercial space ­facility on the island.

In view of the range of issues under scrutiny that the public is entitled to know about, the Albanese government’s refusal to grant the Coalition an intelligence briefing on Russia’s activities in Indonesia goes against caretaker conventions during election campaigns. These require the public service to be even-handed between the major parties. On important issues, the opposition should be briefed, as it might be the government post-election. As Peter Jennings wrote: “There is a lot going on in Moscow-Jakarta ties and that means increased Australian intelligence reporting. If there was genuinely no intelligence reporting on the Biak base then it would have been a cost-free move on the government’s part to have the head of the Office of National Intelligence say that to Peter Dutton. The government is holding this intelligence information back ­because where there’s smoke there’s fire. Labor will have been receiving intelligence reporting and failing to act on it.”

Moscow is already a major arms supplier to Indonesia, whose President, Prabowo Subianto, signed up his country to the China- and Russia-led BRICS nations grouping soon after his inauguration in October 2024. Weeks later, Indonesia and Russia conducted their first bilateral naval drills in Indonesian waters.

That Russia can never be trusted was demonstrated yet again over Easter with Vladimir Putin’s cynical disregard for the 30-hour ostensible truce that he announced in his war against Ukraine. Given Putin’s malign record, it is likely the capricious Russian tyrant never intended to do anything other than continue his assault. Can we accept what Putin’s envoy in Jakarta says or give any credence to Moscow?

The Opposition Leader is right to accuse Labor of ducking and weaving over the issue. But 11 days from the election, Mr Dutton has only himself and opposition strategists to blame that defence and the Indonesia issue, as well as other strategic dangers facing the nation, are not front and centre of the campaign. The latest Newspoll shows that while Labor’s primary vote has increased, the two-party-preferred vote remains steady at 52-48 in Labor’s favour. Australians also regard Mr Dutton as the leader better placed to defend the nation, which should help his campaign. Defence is a strong suit for the Coalition, but its plan to launch its policy in the lead-up to Anzac Day on Friday is a delay it could come to regret.

It has plenty of ammunition to attack Labor on the issue, including Employment Minister Murray Watt’s claim that the Coalition “might as well ask for a briefing on the Loch Ness monster. This is something that doesn’t exist, that they fabricated”. If so, Labor, which seems increasingly out of its depth, should release the relevant intelligence.