Defence, if the landmark Defence Strategic Review is listened to, is being taken off the back of the tortoise and is being strapped to the hare.
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Australia's security posture has to change with urgency, the declassified version of the review states, as circumstances have changed around Defence. It has to be nimble, as Australia is entering the "missile age" and is no longer as protected by its particular island geography or by what our neighbours can and cannot do.
There are two giant "Cs" down as threats which require the "biggest shake-up in decades" for Defence; China and climate change.
"China's assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea threatens the global rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific in a way that adversely impacts Australia's national interests," according to the review.
Climate change exacerbates and amplifies everything for Defence. It has the potential to "significantly increase risk in our region," according to the review, possibly mass migration, increased demand for peacekeeping and peace enforcement. Even conflict.
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But it is trying to do its day job - the primary objective of defending Australia - while it is being pulled in to help with natural disasters such as fires and floods.
"Climate events already place concurrency pressures on the ADF and this has negatively affected force preparedness, readiness and combat effectiveness," the review states.
"Defence must be the force of last resort for domestic aid to the civil community."
The declassified assessment of climate change is "remarkably deficient". according to former Chief of the Defence Force Chris Barrie.
The retired Admiral, who is part of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group, told The Canberra Times the climate change threat to Australia is already here and he argues the public should see it.
"Both on cyber security and on the threat potentially, from China, if we get into a fight over it, our diplomacy will have failed. And there will be a lot of change afoot before any of that happens," he said.
"But actually, what we were experiencing already are the consequences of climate change. And the climate is not listening to any of this stuff. It's just getting on and doing its thing."
He wants the release of the concurrent national climate security risk assessment from the Office of National Intelligence.
"Frankly, without the climate security risk assessment alongside this document, so we can read both and figure out where our priorities and decisions need to lie, then we've only got half the story," he said.
"Is that another horror story that they don't want us to know about?"
The Prime Minister teased that something is coming.
"We need to, as a government and as a nation, work out an appropriate response and the review is really indicating very clearly that that context can't be just saying 'oh well, we'll rely upon the Defence Force'," he said on Monday.
Could it be a federal civilian natural disaster agency? Mr Albanese urges patience.
Chris Barrie has long called for a universal service scheme for young Australians and he's suggesting it again in the natural disaster environment as "we don't have people available to do all this stuff".
Personnel problems, not enough of them, are again holding back bold ambition, but climate change was calling yesterday.