Jacqui Lambie lashes US defence spend request and points to ADF ‘personnel crisis' as primary national security concern

Sky News AU

2 days ago

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has hit out at the US President and his Defence Secretary's request to Australia for additional military spending and pointed to the Australian Defence Force's 'personnel crisis' as the country's main national security issue.
Defence Minister Richard Marles met with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore last week to discuss the key priorities of the US-Australia alliance in the face of a potential Chinese offensive in Taiwan within the next two years.
The figure of 3.5 per cent of GDP was revealed by a US Department of Defence readout released on Sunday as the amount requested for Australia to increase its spending to, a major increase from the Albanese government's prospect of 2.33 per cent.
Speaking to Sky News on Monday morning, Ms Lambie said the additional funding would be a 'disgusting waste' of money.
Senator Jacqui Lambie has hit out at US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth's request for additional military spending and pointed to the ADF 'personnel crisis' as Australia's primary national security concern. Picture: NewsWire/ David Clark
'Just ask Donald Trump to give us our money back for our submarines, mate,' Ms Lambie said.
'But look, now it'd be nice to lift our defence spending, there is no doubt about that, things are pretty tough out there at the moment but … we waste so much money in defence procurement and that's where we should be looking.
'You've only got to see those submarines, mate. Four billion dollars so far and we haven't got one scrap of bloody steel sitting in a harbour yet ready to go. I mean, that is just disgusting waste at its best.'
Ms Lambie said there was a 'personnel crisis' with hiring and retention in the ADF which the Tasmanian MP considered the 'biggest problem' concerning Australia's national security.
Asked what Australia should do about China's potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027, and whether Hegseth's request from Australia was justified, Ms Lambie compared the Australian army with China's PLA.
'I don't know, have you seen the size of the Chinese army? That's the first thing. And the second thing is this, have you seen the condition that ours is in?' she said.
'This is a problem that we've had … We have a personnel crisis in our military and something needs to be done.
'The only way young people are gonna go and join is when people in that uniform go out there and brag how great that job is. And right now, until you get the right mentoring, and you get right leadership in our defence, that is not going to turn around tomorrow.'
Ms Lambie said there was a 'personnel crisis' with hiring and retention in the ADF which the Tasmanian MP considered the 'biggest problem' concerning Australia's national security. Picture: Annette Dew
Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the Australian government was increasing its defence spend by $50 billion over the decade, which included the AUKUS agreement. Pictured is US nuclear-powered submarine USS Minnesota in Darwin Harbour. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin
Hegseth nudged Australia over the weekend to boost funding to 3.5 per cent of GDP and warned China could make a move on Taiwan by 2027 – a timeline Sky News considered in its documentary Are We Ready For War?
In his address at the summit, Mr Hegseth echoed the Trump administration's motto of maintaining 'peace through strength' and stressed the importance of restoring the 'warrior ethos'.
"There's no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent," Mr Hegseth said, in some of his strongest comments on the Communist nation since he took office in January.
Asked what help Australia could give to the US, Ms Lambie said she did not believe there was 'much'.
'We are absolutely exhausted. 20 years we followed them into the Middle East. We are still picking up the pieces from that and we will be picking that up, I reckon, for the next five years, without doubt,' she said.
'Right now, our troops are not in the condition to be in a war zone. Okay, maybe peacekeeping, but sure as hell not in a War Zone, mate. No way in hell.'
Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite joined Sky News and said the Australian government was increasing its defence spend over the next three years by $10.5 billion and $50 billion over the decade, which included the AUKUS agreement.
'We'll make decisions based on what we believe is in Australia's best interest. But we're doing that in partnership with our most important strategic allies. And that includes the United States and the UK,' he said.
In response, Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes said 3.5 per cent was a 'considerable jump' in defence spending but argued that she did not think Australians could currently put their hand on their hearts and 'feel confident'.
'This is a government who had absolutely no idea that China was performing live fire exercises off our coast or having spy ships circumnavigate around our nation. The federal government has two roles, keeping the national economy strong and keeping Australians safe,' she said.
'The reality, is our part of the world, Indo-Pacific, is where there is a lot of action, a lot of concerns and a lot of muscling up by China.'
Ms Hughes said the Prime Minister 'might like being Beijing's handsome boy' but he needed to 'stand up for Australians' and ensure defence was prepared for the worst.
'The Prime Minister is more interested in removing HECS debt to buy votes as opposed to investing in our nation's future,' she said.
'I think this government needs to have a serious look at what its priorities are to keep Australians safe, both economically and strategically in defence.'
Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) defence strategy senior analyst Malcolm Davis said Mr Hegseth's intervention in Australia's military budget benchmark was 'perfectly correct' and referenced his organisation's report which suggested making 3 per cent the minimum.
Mr Davis said the Defence Secretary's call to increase defence spending 'as soon as possible' was due to the 'dire' strategic circumstances Australia faced.
'We can't afford to say, 'oh, well, we'll get to 3 or 3. 5 per cent in 10 years'. No, it's got to be in the year or so, because the strategic circumstances that we're facing are so dire, so dangerous, that we cannot afford a leisurely rise up to 2.33 per cent, which is what the government's talking about, let alone anything more,' he said.
Dr Davis said China was 'deadly serious' about moving on Taiwan as its military has undergone rapid modernisation, rehearsals for blockading Taiwan, as well as President Xi Jinping telling the People's Liberation Army it needed to 'be ready to invade' by 2027.
In light of Ms Lambie's comments, that the ADF was depleted in personnel and resources, the ASPI defence strategy expert said Australia could still do an 'awful lot' if China jumped on Taiwan and the US asked for help.
'We can offer Australian military bases for the US and its allies to operate from. We're going to have US submarines operating out of Fremantle as part of Submarine Rotation Force-West under AUKUS. We can boost our investment in the guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise to start producing munitions at a much more rapid rate than what is currently planned for.
'And we can actually operate alongside in a combat role with certain types of military forces that we already have in terms of air power, strike operations and special forces.
'There's an awful lot that we can do that I think would be valuable to the US.'