Australia has been ‘riding on American security coat-tails' for around 30 years
Strategic Analysis Australia Director Peter Jennings discusses Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's call for Australia to up its defence spending.
'We are so far back … because we have been riding on American security coattails for the better part of 20 or 30 years,' Mr Jennings told Sky News host Peta Credlin.
'During the Cold War, we were spending between three to three and a half per cent of defence over that period of time and it has fallen very significantly since then, so really this is a warning from our closest ally.'
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Perth Now
38 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Combat might be launched from Australia: defence chief
Australia's defence force chief warns the nation might need to prepare for launching combat operations from home soil. Addressing the Australian Strategic Policy Institute defence conference in Canberra on Wednesday, Admiral David Johnston spoke on national preparedness and how the nation could mobilise all of society. "We're having to reconsider Australia as a homeland from which we will conduct combat operations," he said. "That, again, is a very different way, almost since the Second World War, about how we think of national resilience and preparedness ... we may need to operate and conduct combat operations from this country." Admiral Johnston said this included infrastructure in northern Australia, to supply chains, and integrating industry with the states and territories. Asked about the request made by the US that Australia boost its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, Admiral Johnston said Defence was "fully expending its budget at the moment". "That's a good thing, as we've uplifted our acquisition, delivery workforce is improving our view of what we need to do around readiness, but that does put pressure on a budget that we have to make choices on," he said. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke to Defence Minister Richard Marles about increased spending on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy repeated that the Albanese government was open to the discussion. PNG's Defence Minister Billy Joseph said while his nation had a strong economic partnership with China, it preferred for regional security to be provided for by the Pacific. "The security and defence of both Australia and Papua New Guinea are inextricably intertwined," he said. Dr Joseph noted there were a few "notable" missing countries from the security summit in Singapore who he said should have been there but weren't, including China who did not send its defence minister this year. On the issue of the use of the ADF in disaster response, Admiral Johnston said the military probably won't be able to provide the community with the support it previously has. "It is vital that the defence force is able to focus on that mission that has consequences to the training we perform," he said. The defence strategic review, released in 2023, warned against using the ADF as a domestic disaster recovery agency. The ADF is increasingly being called on by governments to help in the face of extreme flooding and bushfires.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A place of killing': The US aid agency sowing chaos in Gaza
The aerial photographs show five narrow lanes made of high metal fences wedged between two artificial mounds of earth and topped with barbed wire. Inside, hundreds of people are crammed under the baking sun. The sight of ordinary Gazans corralled into cages is not the image Israel's reputation managers were after. But, just over a week into its controversial new aid delivery scheme to bypass Hamas using a US contractor, that is what they are faced with. That, and viral videos of civilians running for their lives to the sound of gunfire, amid accusations – bitterly denied by Israel – that more than 20 were shot dead by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday as order disintegrated at a distribution centre in the south of the Strip. One man who spoke to The London Telegraph said he found the centre 'terrifying' and 'like a prison', but that he was forced there – kilometres from his temporary home – out of fear that his children would starve. Another called it 'a place of killing'. Fuelling the international criticism is the nature of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the American company created to deliver the new system, with persistent suggestions of CIA involvement, opaque funding and concealed Israeli control. This has been enhanced by condemnation from the UN and other large aid NGOs, which want nothing to do with the GHF and accuse it of politicising aid. After Sunday's alleged shooting, and new claims of gunfire killing more than 20 people overnight, the project's credibility is on a knife-edge. Loading From Israel's point of view, the new system makes perfect sense. The government argues that under the previous model, which it cut off entirely at the beginning of March, Hamas robbed the aid trucks blind – the UN denies this – then sold the food, fuel and medical supplies back to civilians, thus cementing their control over the population and financing their terror infrastructure. By contrast, the new arrangement requires people to travel to four purpose-built distribution centres in the south of the Strip where – it was promised – they would be screened to make sure they are deserving civilians and not terrorists. The idea, in principle, is that while the IDF provides a wider blanket of security, Gazans themselves do not interact with Israeli soldiers, but deal directly with the foundation staff and associated security contractors. Some reports suggest these contractors are paid more than $US1000 a day. 'Places of killing' The UN and legacy NGOs, which used to deliver aid into communities through more than a hundred drop-off points, say this offends basic humanitarian principles, trapping people between starvation and a long and dangerous journey. Omar Baraka, 40, from Khan Younis, said: 'We go to dangerous red zones, the army asks us to walk for several kilometres. 'There is no order in the place, it's very chaotic. 'Tens of thousands of citizens go there. The organisation delivered aid in the first two days, then the centres became places of killing.' Salem Al-Ahmad, an 18-year-old high school student, has ventured to the GHF site on several occasions to try to pick up flour for his family. 'The situation required getting food and saving yourself from death,' he said. 'Anyone who gets aid has to run back quickly, about three kilometres, because the army starts shooting to empty the area of civilians. 'I found a lot of food lying on the ground because it is difficult to carry and run with it. I only had 1kg bags of flour so I could run from the gunfire.' Israeli government officials and their supporters in the press argue that, despite the chaotic scenes, the early days of the new scheme represents a triumph. This is because it shows Gaza's civilian population has passed through the 'fear barrier' – in other words, it shows they are now prepared to defy the terror group's commands not to engage with the GHF. There is certainly evidence that Hamas has tried to put obstacles – some physical, others in the form of propaganda – between the Gazan civilians and the new aid system. It is far less certain to what extent the group has been behind the scenes of chaos at the new distribution centres themselves. Critics say that the scenes of disorder are simply a function of a desperate, starving population and inexperienced aid distributors. Aside from gunfire, flashbangs and smoke grenades have been thrown. Meanwhile, multiple people say that no serious attempt at screening is made. On Monday night, UN human rights chief Volker Turk told the BBC the way humanitarian aid is now being delivered is 'unacceptable' and 'dehumanising'. 'I think what it shows is utter disregard for civilians. Can you imagine people that have been absolutely desperate for food, for medicine, for almost three months and then they have to run for it or try to get it in the most desperate circumstances? Mr Turk told the BBC World Service's Newshour program. Aside from the practical difficulties the new system imposes, it has been accused of serving Benjamin Netanyahu's agenda by forcing the population into the largely levelled south of the Strip, leaving the IDF clear to execute Operation Gideon's Chariot, which, sources have said, will see a similarly widespread demolition of property. Loading Some have even questioned whether the GHF model is a crucial component of an attempt to realise Donald Trump's 'riviera' vision for Gaza, which would see the population displaced ahead of a comprehensive redevelopment. While the president himself now appears lukewarm about the scheme, there are some in Israel's government – notably Defence Minister Israel Katz – who allude to it often. Aside from its performance on the ground, the origins and make-up of the GHF and its partner organisation, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), continue to provoke comment. The latter is headed by Philip Reilly, a CIA veteran, who is said to have played a role in training the Contra rebels in Nicaragua in the 1980s, and was then the first agency officer into Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, where he went on to be station chief. SRS previously had the contract to police traffic and people along a main north-south road in Gaza during the January-March ceasefire. A recent investigation by The New York Times suggests that an informal network of powerful individuals in both the IDF and the prime minister's office, known as the Mikveh Yisrael Foru, had been aiming towards a parallel aid system that cut out the NGOs since December 2023. It claimed that the group had identified Reilly as its candidate to lead such a mission as early as January last year, and that the January contract was a key step in convincing Netanyahu to hire him for the aid distribution job. The GHF is a separately registered company, although it was registered by the same lawyer and previously had the same spokesman. A $US100 million donation to the GHF got tongues wagging in Israel that this was really the work of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency – indeed, the former defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said as much. The GHF denies this, saying the donation was from a Western European country, but declined to name which one. 'Tired from malnutrition' Jake Wood, a former US Marine, quit as chief executive of the foundation the day before aid distribution operations began, claiming it violated 'humanitarian principles'. He had previously said: 'I would participate in no plan in any capacity if it was an extension of an IDF plan or an Israeli government plan to forcibly dislocate people anywhere within Gaza.' Back in Rafah, Ahmed Musa, a 34-year-old from Khan Younis, spoke of despair at Sunday's events. 'I left at dawn to go to the American aid centre in the Mawasi area of Rafah,' he said. 'I went there under duress, as I have four hungry children who are tired from malnutrition. 'The scene was terrifying,' he added. 'I sat and cried bitterly over my helplessness that I did not receive anything. But I will try again.'
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
‘A place of killing': The US aid agency sowing chaos in Gaza
The aerial photographs show five narrow lanes made of high metal fences wedged between two artificial mounds of earth and topped with barbed wire. Inside, hundreds of people are crammed under the baking sun. The sight of ordinary Gazans corralled into cages is not the image Israel's reputation managers were after. But, just over a week into its controversial new aid delivery scheme to bypass Hamas using a US contractor, that is what they are faced with. That, and viral videos of civilians running for their lives to the sound of gunfire, amid accusations – bitterly denied by Israel – that more than 20 were shot dead by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday as order disintegrated at a distribution centre in the south of the Strip. One man who spoke to The London Telegraph said he found the centre 'terrifying' and 'like a prison', but that he was forced there – kilometres from his temporary home – out of fear that his children would starve. Another called it 'a place of killing'. Fuelling the international criticism is the nature of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the American company created to deliver the new system, with persistent suggestions of CIA involvement, opaque funding and concealed Israeli control. This has been enhanced by condemnation from the UN and other large aid NGOs, which want nothing to do with the GHF and accuse it of politicising aid. After Sunday's alleged shooting, and new claims of gunfire killing more than 20 people overnight, the project's credibility is on a knife-edge. Loading From Israel's point of view, the new system makes perfect sense. The government argues that under the previous model, which it cut off entirely at the beginning of March, Hamas robbed the aid trucks blind – the UN denies this – then sold the food, fuel and medical supplies back to civilians, thus cementing their control over the population and financing their terror infrastructure. By contrast, the new arrangement requires people to travel to four purpose-built distribution centres in the south of the Strip where – it was promised – they would be screened to make sure they are deserving civilians and not terrorists. The idea, in principle, is that while the IDF provides a wider blanket of security, Gazans themselves do not interact with Israeli soldiers, but deal directly with the foundation staff and associated security contractors. Some reports suggest these contractors are paid more than $US1000 a day. 'Places of killing' The UN and legacy NGOs, which used to deliver aid into communities through more than a hundred drop-off points, say this offends basic humanitarian principles, trapping people between starvation and a long and dangerous journey. Omar Baraka, 40, from Khan Younis, said: 'We go to dangerous red zones, the army asks us to walk for several kilometres. 'There is no order in the place, it's very chaotic. 'Tens of thousands of citizens go there. The organisation delivered aid in the first two days, then the centres became places of killing.' Salem Al-Ahmad, an 18-year-old high school student, has ventured to the GHF site on several occasions to try to pick up flour for his family. 'The situation required getting food and saving yourself from death,' he said. 'Anyone who gets aid has to run back quickly, about three kilometres, because the army starts shooting to empty the area of civilians. 'I found a lot of food lying on the ground because it is difficult to carry and run with it. I only had 1kg bags of flour so I could run from the gunfire.' Israeli government officials and their supporters in the press argue that, despite the chaotic scenes, the early days of the new scheme represents a triumph. This is because it shows Gaza's civilian population has passed through the 'fear barrier' – in other words, it shows they are now prepared to defy the terror group's commands not to engage with the GHF. There is certainly evidence that Hamas has tried to put obstacles – some physical, others in the form of propaganda – between the Gazan civilians and the new aid system. It is far less certain to what extent the group has been behind the scenes of chaos at the new distribution centres themselves. Critics say that the scenes of disorder are simply a function of a desperate, starving population and inexperienced aid distributors. Aside from gunfire, flashbangs and smoke grenades have been thrown. Meanwhile, multiple people say that no serious attempt at screening is made. On Monday night, UN human rights chief Volker Turk told the BBC the way humanitarian aid is now being delivered is 'unacceptable' and 'dehumanising'. 'I think what it shows is utter disregard for civilians. Can you imagine people that have been absolutely desperate for food, for medicine, for almost three months and then they have to run for it or try to get it in the most desperate circumstances? Mr Turk told the BBC World Service's Newshour program. Aside from the practical difficulties the new system imposes, it has been accused of serving Benjamin Netanyahu's agenda by forcing the population into the largely levelled south of the Strip, leaving the IDF clear to execute Operation Gideon's Chariot, which, sources have said, will see a similarly widespread demolition of property. Loading Some have even questioned whether the GHF model is a crucial component of an attempt to realise Donald Trump's 'riviera' vision for Gaza, which would see the population displaced ahead of a comprehensive redevelopment. While the president himself now appears lukewarm about the scheme, there are some in Israel's government – notably Defence Minister Israel Katz – who allude to it often. Aside from its performance on the ground, the origins and make-up of the GHF and its partner organisation, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), continue to provoke comment. The latter is headed by Philip Reilly, a CIA veteran, who is said to have played a role in training the Contra rebels in Nicaragua in the 1980s, and was then the first agency officer into Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, where he went on to be station chief. SRS previously had the contract to police traffic and people along a main north-south road in Gaza during the January-March ceasefire. A recent investigation by The New York Times suggests that an informal network of powerful individuals in both the IDF and the prime minister's office, known as the Mikveh Yisrael Foru, had been aiming towards a parallel aid system that cut out the NGOs since December 2023. It claimed that the group had identified Reilly as its candidate to lead such a mission as early as January last year, and that the January contract was a key step in convincing Netanyahu to hire him for the aid distribution job. The GHF is a separately registered company, although it was registered by the same lawyer and previously had the same spokesman. A $US100 million donation to the GHF got tongues wagging in Israel that this was really the work of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency – indeed, the former defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said as much. The GHF denies this, saying the donation was from a Western European country, but declined to name which one. 'Tired from malnutrition' Jake Wood, a former US Marine, quit as chief executive of the foundation the day before aid distribution operations began, claiming it violated 'humanitarian principles'. He had previously said: 'I would participate in no plan in any capacity if it was an extension of an IDF plan or an Israeli government plan to forcibly dislocate people anywhere within Gaza.' Back in Rafah, Ahmed Musa, a 34-year-old from Khan Younis, spoke of despair at Sunday's events. 'I left at dawn to go to the American aid centre in the Mawasi area of Rafah,' he said. 'I went there under duress, as I have four hungry children who are tired from malnutrition. 'The scene was terrifying,' he added. 'I sat and cried bitterly over my helplessness that I did not receive anything. But I will try again.'
