Coalition accuses Labor of failing to ‘safeguard sovereignty and freedom' amid US push for higher defence spending

Sky News AU

2 days ago

United States' Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Defence Minister Richard Marles to lift defence spending in a meeting on Friday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference.
Sky News Sunday Agenda understands Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will not bow to pressure to raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP.
In response, Mr Paterson told Sky News Sunday Agenda that Labor was failing to match its rhetoric on national security with action.
'When it comes to defence and national security, often they (Labor) talk a good game, but they deliver very little, and Richard Marles is in that category,' Mr Paterson said.
'He talks all the time about how this is the most dangerous and uncertain strategic environment since the end of World War II, but defence spending has been flat.'
Mr Marles recently admitted that the pentagon chief, Mr Hegseth, had urged him and other allies to lift defence investment.
He even appeared to leave the door open to higher spending, saying the government was 'up for the conversation'.
The Albanese government's existing policy so far has been to increase defence funding to 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033, which Mr Paterson said 'doesn't meet the challenge'.
There has been growing concern within the defence community over aggressive activity from Russia and China in the space domain.
The Coalition's policy at the federal election, in contrast to Labor, was to raise the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP within five years, and 3 per cent within a decade.
'That reckons with the environment that we are dealing with in our own region. It takes it seriously and responds to it to make sure that we can safeguard our own sovereignty and our own freedom,' Mr Paterson said.
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth told Sky News Sunday Agenda that the government's focus was on AUKUS, rather than more defence spending.
'Our focus, of course, is delivering what is a fundamental capability uplift in AUKUS,' Ms Rishworth said.
'AUKUS is a significant... capability uplift for Australia that is so critical. That requires incredible partnership with the US as well as the UK.
'And of course, coming from South Australia, AUKUS will have such a revolutionary impact on our city and our country. And that's what we're firmly focused on.'
Mr Albanese lashed out on Thursday at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) after it published a report criticising the government's funding trajectory.
'Seriously, they need to, I think, have a look at themselves as well and the way that they conduct themselves in debates,' Mr Albanese told ABC Radio.
'We've had a Defence Strategic Review. We've got considerable additional investment going into defence – $10 billion."
ASPI Executive Director Justin Bassi defended the report, saying the government was failing to meet the urgency of the global threat landscape.
'ASPI was set up to deliver the hard truths to the government of the day,' Mr Bassi told Sky News.
'Unfortunately the world has these threats that do impact Australia and to counter these threats we need to, unfortunately, spend more money in the area."
Mr Albanese's highly-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump appears likely to occur at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis from June 15 to 17, 2025.