Coalition says Australia needs ‘immediate action' needed to solve 'desperate situation' in Australian Defence Force

Sky News AU

6 hours ago

The federal Coalition has reiterated the need for Australia to boost its defence spending, with the shadow defence minister warning the situation was becoming 'desperate' and 'immediate action' is needed.
The Albanese government has rejected the Trump administration's calls for Australia to increase it's defence spending, despite NATO agreeing to increase it's target to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035.
Defending the position on Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia's defence spending should be driven by the capabilities we need, not an arbitrary target.
"We start with the capability. We don't start with the dollars," Mr Burke told Sky News Australia.
But shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said the Albanese government wasn't even meeting the goals set out in its own Defence Strategic Review.
'It should be based on need, but his own defence strategic review has laid out where the money needs to be spent, and it's not being spent. I mean, this is the point, this government's not even meeting its own goals,' Mr Taylor told Sunday Agenda.
'Forget the pressure being put on by the United States, this is about what's appropriate for us.
'We are seeing authoritarian regimes across the globe flexing their muscles, and open democratic societies like ours need to stand up for what we believe in.
'And if we are to have control of our own destiny, if we're to play the role we need to play in ensuring we have peace through deterrence in our region, the spending is too low. And the government's own plan demonstrates that."
Mr Taylor said defence experts were warning that Australia risked having a 'paper ADF'.
'This is a desperate situation now, and it needs immediate action,' the shadow minister added.
The shadow defence minister said there were 'a whole series of areas' in defence that are currently underfunded.
'Our naval surface fleet is not where it needs to be,' he said.
'Right now we're even seeing ships that are not getting the appropriate level of maintenance and sustainment, so they're not in operation as they should be.
'We know we need to increase spending on recruitment and making sure we're getting the people we need into our defence force. We are thousands and thousands of people short of where we should be.
"But we also know we need hardening of our northern facilities in places like Tyndall, in Darwin, in Townsville.
'We need to make sure that the Henderson sub facility is getting the investment it needs to be able to build the subs, and also play our role in maintenance and sustainment.
'We need to invest in that drone and counter-drone technology, which we know is playing such an important role in conflicts across the globe.
'All of these things desperately need investment. The underinvestment is really showing.'
Mr Taylor said keeping Australians safe and making sure we have peace in the region was the 'first and most important imperative' for government and an inability to do this is a major failure.
'If a government is not in a position to make the investments necessary to achieve peace through deterrence in the region it is in, then it has failed its people,' he said.