Australia's government secrecy is 'definitely significant', says veteran NYT journalist
The New York Times' longtime national security correspondent, David E. Sanger, says he wouldn't have been able to break some of his biggest scoops in Australia.
In Canberra journalism circles there is a saying that if you want to know what the Australians are doing on national security, ask the Americans.
It’s a reflection of the Australian public service’s culture of secrecy relative to the US.
Journalists experience this when they go for briefings with any US government official: they are much more forthcoming with information and willing to be quoted than their Australian counterparts.
On Wednesday at the National Press Club, The New York Times' national security correspondent David E. Sanger was asked by the ABC’s Andrew Greene whether he had experienced this culture of secrecy when dealing with the Australian government. His response: the “secrecy is definitely significant”.
