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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has used a major speech to party faithful to outline the Coalition’s defence priorities, including committing to a “floor” of 3 per cent of GDP and an emphasis on greater continental defence.
Despite ongoing leadership rumblings and debates about the future of the federal Coalition, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has used an address to the Menzies Institute to outline her plans for rebuilding Australia’s defence capabilities, enhancing national security and resilience at a time when the Indo-Pacific faces increasing geopolitical instability.
This comes following a particularly contentious period for defence policy and spending under previous opposition leader Peter Dutton, who committed to 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) defence spending. Against this backdrop the Coalition argued that Australia has become less safe under the Albanese government, accusing Labor of lacking the strength and urgency required to respond to a rapidly deteriorating security landscape.
Dutton’s opposition contended that defence spending has stagnated, key capability programs have been delayed or cut, and recruitment and retention problems within the Australian Defence Force have worsened.
Positioning themselves as the party of strong national security leadership, the Coalition set out an agenda centred on significantly increasing Defence funding, accelerating capability acquisition and restoring institutional structures they believe Labor has weakened.
Their plan included more than $21 billion in additional Defence spending over five years, lifting funding to 2.5 per cent of GDP within that period and to 3 per cent within a decade. Meanwhile, they promised to reinstate a fourth F-35A squadron, prioritise rapid investment in strike, counter-strike and asymmetric capabilities, and tackle the ADF’s personnel shortfalls.
In addition to these promises, Dutton’s Coalition pitched an overhaul of capability acquisition, they proposed establishing a Defence Capability and Acquisition Commission, aimed at streamlining procurement, boosting sovereign industry participation, and speeding up the delivery of critical equipment.
Framing the situation starkly, the Coalition argued that Australia faces a recruiting crisis, a retention crisis and a readiness crisis, all of which must be urgently addressed. They emphasised that while Labor talks about long-term spending increases, the meaningful funding has been pushed into the out-years, leaving Australia exposed at a dangerous moment.
While drawing on inspiration from the Dutton-era, Ley is firmly seeking to chart her own path forward when it comes to defence and national security, articulating for the audience at the Menzies Institute a “Liberal philosophy toward national security” that emphasises responding to authoritarian threats to individual and national liberty.
Charting a new path forward
Ley said, “The Commonwealth must also build out capabilities of surveillance and covert disruption because our democracy is constantly under pressure from external forces dedicated to sabotaging our free society.”
As part of this, Ley highlighted the stresses posed by “grey zone” threats stemming from domestic, foreign and criminal threat actors which seek to undermine national security, social cohesion and national resilience.
Pivoting, Ley emphasised that while domestic importance is critical, Australia has a pivotal role to play in what she terms as the “Liberal International Agenda” or what is more commonly known as the “global rules-based order” built and largely maintained by the United States since the end of the Second World War.
Ley said, “In addition to the security we seek to give Australians at home, we will also have an important role internationally. We must always work directly with our strongest ally and deepest security partner, the United States. And additionally, we should also deepen other bilateral relationships and build new joint partnerships...
“The answer is not to walk away from important engagement with our allies on the world stage – the answer is to work to reform these bodies [multilateral organisations like the United Nations] so they are fit for purpose.”
As part of this push, Ley reinforced her commitment to the global rules-based order, saying, “Australia is once again seeking one of the 10 non-permanent spots on the Security Council and we stand ready to work with the government in any way we can to help support Australia’s bid for a seat at the table...
"Under my leadership, the Liberal Party will revitalise this Menzian tradition of multilateralism, which emphasised pragmatism and creativity.
“Recent eras of Liberal government took opportunities to offset flagging multilateral institutions with bilateral security and trade agreements. Whilst these agreements are important and should continue to be developed, we cannot ignore the decline of multilateralism, especially in relation to collective security.”
To support this, Ley highlighted that she would advocate for a continued “mini-lateralism” within the confines of the Five Eyes organisation while calling for the respective leaders of the Five Eyes to have annual leaders’ meetings in order to “realise its full strategic potential it needs more structure for strategic coordination and discourse at the highest levels of political leadership”.
“The Five Eyes needs an annual leaders summit to deepen strategic alignment and solidify a consensus about how the grouping can be best leveraged beyond its existing joint operations,” she added.
Enhancing Defence preparedness
Ley reinforced claims Australia is facing what many now concede are “the most dangerous circumstances since the Second World War”, with the prospect of major-power conflict “higher now than it has been in decades”.
Further to this, she articulated the well-known reality that Defence planners no longer assume a decade of warning time, warning instead that war in our region “could arise within our present decade” and may need to be fought “from the home front”, with attacks on our bases and supply lines.
Ley believes that this risk demands a dual approach.
First, Australia must maximise its diplomatic, cultural and economic influence to prevent conflict, making clear “that the realisation of one nation’s destiny cannot be through the destruction of another’s”. Second, Ley believes we must strengthen deterrence by boosting defence capability, industrial capacity and national resolve. The Lowy Institute’s finding that a quarter of Australians wouldn’t fight for the country is “sobering”, prompting calls to rebuild national pride and understanding of the stakes.
Concerns focus heavily on delays in missile production, stagnation in AUKUS Pillar II and a defence industry “crying out for the investment promised”. Guided weapons, autonomous systems and sovereign satellite communications are identified as urgent priorities.
Citing recent comments from former RSL president Greg Melick, as he put it, unless Australia lifts its effort, “we may well regret the conflict we didn’t deter”.
Ley’s argument concludes that failing to act risks a “poorer, weaker, lonelier Australia”. A renewed strategy built on at least 3 per cent of GDP for defence, integrated missile defence, rapid unmanned systems production and sovereign space capability is presented as essential to ensure Australia can “bend history toward peace” and safeguard its future.
"Energy security is national security"
Shifting gears to one of the most topical subjects, particularly in recent weeks, energy and the spectre of net zero, which has caused significant ruptures within the federal opposition, Ley doesn't shy away from this, stating that Australia’s fuel and energy security is now central to our ability to withstand any crisis or conflict – and, as the speech made clear, “the situation is dire”.
Cyber agencies have repeatedly warned that state-backed hackers are targeting renewable energy infrastructure, with groups like Volt Typhoon embedding malware “in anticipation of launching sabotage attacks”. Compromised digital components in solar and wind systems risk allowing our grid to be “remotely degraded and disrupted”.
Fuel supply is an equally urgent vulnerability. Australia is far short of its 90-day obligation, with estimates showing that if imports were cut, we would have only “days – to a couple of weeks – before domestic freight and aviation ceases entirely”. Without fuel, “store shelves will go bare” and essential services would halt, eroding public resolve: “If people can’t get groceries… then what hope do we have?”
Although COVID-19 showed supply lines can be reconfigured, governments must ensure enough fuel to survive the initial shock. The 2021 Fuel Security Act began this process, but momentum has “fallen away”.
Ley’s speech calls for stronger incentives to boost domestic production, including biofuels and e-fuels. The global “weaponisation of energy” – from Russia’s coercion of Europe to the sabotage of pipelines – underlines the need to diversify and rebuild sovereignty. Yet Australia is “decreasing its energy sovereignty”, with NSW and Victoria preparing to import LNG despite abundant gas.
The argument concludes that unlocking gas, enabling nuclear energy, and building a nuclear-skilled workforce are essential for industrial projects such as AUKUS submarines.
As Ley asked: “Why then are we not unleashing our energy resources to fuel this historic mission?”
Ultimately, Ley’s speech casts Australia’s strategic moment as one of upheaval, arguing that “our world is being reshaped by war, technology, trade turmoil and profound social change”.
She reiterated that the challenges are clear, and so too are many of the solutions.
Drawing on the legacy of the Menzies era, the speaker argued that Australia must once again “deploy the levers of Australian power to stand up for peace, and to stand up for Australians”.
Ley argued that under Labor, Australia faces “a distinct and alarming deficit of power and influence” across military, diplomatic and economic domains. The nation “cannot shape our region … if we do not strengthen our defence force, hone our intelligence capabilities and have the tough conversations”.
The audience is told that these tough discussions include addressing “urgent gaps in our defence”, navigating the balance between freedom and protection, forging “new diplomacy” and climbing “the mountain … to ensure Australia’s industrial base is fuelled and fired” for the tasks ahead.
Ley also emphasised optimism.
She imagines “an Australia that has addressed these challenges”: a nation properly defended and able to “deter aggression from touching our Pacific region”; an entrepreneurial country with a stronger international voice; and one with “greater energy independence” and deeper development of its own resources, making it “more prosperous, more confident and more secure”.
Ending on a forward-looking note, Ley stressed a shared national mission: “I am excited by the prospect of what we can build together and I invite you to join me in the task.”
So we shall see how this translates into further defence and national security policy from the Coalition.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
