‘Australians do have a right to know’: Albanese says Iraq war documents should be released

Anthony Albanese says Australians deserve an explanation as to why the Howard government committed the nation to war in Iraq, with an independent investigation ordered into the Morrison-era failure to hand over all the 2003 cabinet documents for release.

Cabinet documents, including those prepared for the national security committee, are released to the public every 20 years. The confidentiality of the 2003 cabinet papers expired on 1 January 2024. The release of the documents was heavily anticipated for the insights into the decision to commit Australia to the US-led invasion of Iraq.

However the documents did not provide information beyond stating John Howard, as prime minister, made “oral reports” to the cabinet, with no formal submission considered by the senior ministers.

Related: Greens demand full release of government documents on ‘disastrous’ decision to join Iraq invasion

But just hours before the papers were due for release, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet announced additional documents had been discovered on 19 December 2023, and transferred to the archives for inspection. In its statement announcing the find, “apparent administrative oversights” in 2020 for the failure to transfer all documents were blamed.

Asked if he was concerned the failure to transfer all documents was part of a “cover up”, Albanese on Wednesday said that was for the independent investigation to answer.

“Well, that’s why we have asked Dennis Richardson to do the review,” the prime minister said in his first press conference for 2024.

“I’m not aware of the circumstances, obviously. I wasn’t a member of the cabinet or the [national security committee] in 2003.”

Richardson is due to hand his report to the government in the next two weeks. The additional documents, which were thought to include national security committee submissions, will be examined for their release suitability over the coming weeks.

Albanese said it was crucial Australians were told why Howard joined Australia in the US’s invasion.

“Australians lost their lives during that conflict and we know that some of the stated reason for going to war was not correct, in terms of the weapons of mass destruction that was alleged Iraq had at that time,” he said.

Related: Australia went to war in Iraq based on ‘oral reports’ to cabinet from John Howard

“Australians do have a right to know what the decision-making process was, and my government, believes that this mistake must be corrected, that the National Archives of Australia should release all the documentation that has been provided to them, having accounted for any national security issues, of course, upon the advice of the national security agencies.

“But there is no reason why these documents should [not] be – with the exception of putting people in danger – should [not be] released in a transparent way.”

Albanese said if the government needed to take “further action” to release the documents, it would.

The 2003 Labor opposition, which was led by Simon Crean, did not support the decision to commit Australia to war. At the time, Crean called it a “black day for Australia” and “illegal, unnecessarily and unjust”.

An investigation by US and UN inspectors found any weapons of mass destruction Iraq had held had been destroyed a decade before the invasion. At least 200,000 Iraqi citizens were killed in the war which followed the 2003 invasion.