Australia Parliament Accuses Gov't Of Being 'Addicted To Secrecy' In Green Policy -Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2021) Australian parliament accused the country's government headed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of being "addicted to secrecy" after it tried to hide the details of its green policies, media reported on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Senator Matt Canavan reportedly filed a motion to disclose the economic and scientific forecasts on which Australian government based its net zero policy. The proposal was supported by the Senate. The Morrison government was given a deadline to disclose the required information by Thursday morning.

According to news Corp Australia (NCA), the government did not provide any data, angering the parliament.

"This government is addicted to secrecy. It's addicted to covering up. It's addicted to not providing information to this chamber. Time and again, the (Senate) chamber calls for documents, calls for information, and we see the government, refusing to provide them," the agency quoted Labor Senator Penny Wong as saying.

Green Senator Larissa Waters was harsher in her criticism, saying that Morrison did not want to release the information, because the net zero modelling was "absolute crap."

However, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, representing the prime minister in the Senate, said that it was just an attempt by the opposition to poach people on its side.

Ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, which will take place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, the Morrison government has been highly criticized for its refusal to increase Australia's 2030 emissions reduction target. The prime minister reportedly seeks to achieve net zero emissions only by 2050. According to Morrison, the decision on the climate target is expected to be made exclusively by the Federal cabinet, without legislation in parliament.