Time & Perspective Quote by Alexander Downer

The sentence performs the classic democratic magic trick: it looks like an answer while making sure nothing actually lands. Downer starts with a stuttered wind-up ("Well, it's a -"), the verbal equivalent of rearranging papers at a podium. It signals discomfort, buys time, and telegraphs that what follows will be procedural, not revelatory. Then he deploys a disarming tactic: "I don't want to disappoint you". It pretends to care about the questioner’s feelings, recasting evasion as courtesy rather than avoidance. The disappointment isn’t his; it’s yours for expecting access.

The real payload is "a time worn tradition". Tradition is doing heavy lifting here: it frames secrecy as settled cultural practice, not a contested choice. By invoking "Australian Governments over many years", Downer launders responsibility through continuity. This isn’t my decision, he implies; it’s the state’s. That move widens the shield from one minister to an entire bipartisan lineage, making any demand for specifics sound naive, even slightly unpatriotic.

Notice the phrase "that aspect of intelligence matters". It's bureaucratic fog with purpose. "Aspect" narrows the target without defining it; "intelligence matters" inflates the stakes. Together, they create a no-go zone whose borders shift depending on the pressure applied. In context - a media culture hungry for accountability and an intelligence sphere built on plausible deniability - Downer’s line is less a refusal than a performance of governance: reassuring allies that protocols hold, warning adversaries that nothing will be confirmed, and reminding the public that transparency has a ceiling, and it’s labeled "tradition."