iscover
Hypocrites. That’s the word that accurately sums up the fallout from last week’s federal budget and reply speech.
Labor Party Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the 2025–26 budget speech at Parliament House in Canberra on 25 March, while Liberal Party Opposition Leader Peter Dutton launched into his budget in reply speech on 27 March.
Both major political parties hyped up the Australian public by declaring that the nation faces the “most precarious, most dangerous period since the end of the Second World War”. But where were the announcements made to even moderately raise defence spending or capability?
Leaders rallied for a return to domestic manufacturing and the promise of an empowered workforce. But voters could have scarcely forgotten that the major parties have retained equal responsibility for selling off Australia’s manufacturing over the last decades.
They plied some much-needed financial relief-flavoured candy to voters experiencing the nation’s current cost of living and housing crisis, as well as the promise of a green energy future. Wisely realising that cost of living and housing crisis will almost single-handedly decide the election result.
“The global economy is volatile and unpredictable. The 2020s have already seen a global pandemic, global inflation and the threat of a global trade war. The whole world has changed as a consequence. Tariffs and tensions abroad have been accompanied by storms at home,” Treasurer Chalmers said in his budget speech.
“Trade disruptions are rising, China’s growth is slowing, war is still raging in Europe, and a ceasefire in the Middle East is breaking down.
“In these uncertain times, economic security and national security are increasingly intertwined. We’re supporting stability and prosperity in our region, by helping to shore up banking services in the Pacific.
“We have invested an extra $50.3 billion in defence by the mid‑2030s, to help keep Australians safe. It means defence funding will grow beyond 2.3 per cent of GDP by the early 2030s.
“And we’re investing $45 million in our initial response to the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review.”
Despite those upbeat and encouraging words from the Treasurer, that funding equates to around 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) Defence spend by the mid-2030s. In addition, $50.3 billion had already been announced under the National Defence Strategy in 2024.
In reality, the dice is already thrown. The federal government has a specific focus on green energy industry funding through its’ Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund rather than practical deterrence and additional Defence funding.
“In this budget, we are investing more than $3 billion to support the production of Australian‑made green metals, like aluminium and iron. Building on the tax incentives for critical minerals and green hydrogen we legislated this year,” Chalmers said.
“We’re also backing clean technologies through our Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund and by recapitalising the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
“This will help develop new industries in clean energy manufacturing, green metals and low carbon liquid fuels, and unlock private investment.
“This agenda is about recognising our future growth prospects lie at the intersection of our industrial, resources, skills and energy bases and our attractiveness as an investment destination. So we can grasp the jobs and opportunities of the net zero transformation.”
Concerningly, a last-minute rescue of the domestic defence industry and Australian Defence Force capability funding under a revitalised Liberal Party is, as yet, an empty promise.
The party has rightly called out the current federal government for its inaction on altercations between Chinese military and the ADF in the South China Sea and more recently in international waters around Australia.
Despite pledging to commit $3 billion of additional funding to reinstate a fourth squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton failed to outline any other major funding in his budget in reply speech on 27 March.
“The Prime Minister of our country and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence, tells Australians regularly that we will in the most precarious period, the most dangerous period, since the end of the Second World War. What leader of a country says that and then doesn’t do anything about it,” Dutton said.
“My intention is to make Australia a mining, agricultural, construction and manufacturing powerhouse again. The revenue generated from these revived sectors will create more money to build new infrastructure, to fund health and education, and, importantly, equip our defence forces.
“In addition to backing our natural strengths, we will encourage new areas of the economy. Like artificial intelligence; like automation; like cyber security; and space, bio, and nanotechnologies.
“AUKUS too has the potential to foster a new arm of our economy and transform our civil industrial base.
“Our plan is to energise our domestic defence industry. And to retool the ADF with asymmetric capabilities to deter a larger adversary.
“Mr Speaker, during the election campaign, we will announce our significant funding commitment to defence. A commitment which – unlike Labor’s – will be commensurate with the challenges of our times.
“We will provide support to the Australian Defence Force to keep us safe today and into generations ahead – at a time when we most need it.
“Australia should be a country where people live without fear and without worrying about the future. We will again invest in Defence to play our part as a credible partner to deter aggression and to maintain peace.”
Bringing up the rear, surprisingly, is the Greens Party with their own official defence strategy to decouple Australia from the country’s strongest ally, the US military, and then demolish as much of the official Defence budget as humanly possible.
The strategy, announced on 22 March, includes plans to cancel AUKUS submarine, Black Hawk helicopter and M1A2 Abrams main battle tank programs before reallocating a laughable $4 billion towards domestic production capabilities of defence material strictly for defensive purposes (such as uncrewed aerial and marine platforms, to short and medium-range defensive missiles).
Definitely a unique approach but summed up in two words as utterly ludicrous.
Give us someone to vote for
It’s clear that both major parties need to get their act together and offer a tangible military uplift solution for defence-minded voters to cast their support towards on polling day.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Task Group 107, comprised of the Jiangka Class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai Class Cruiser Zunyi, and the Fuchi Class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, which sailed around Australia earlier this year has been expertly timed to awaken the Australian public from decades of apathy in regard to defence readiness.
The Russia–Ukraine conflict and the US administration’s “America First” policy has also reinforced the need for self-reliance and effective military capability.
Now is the time for a pro-military, pro-defence industry strategy from our political leaders – if only we had even the slightest chance of a politician taking up that opportunity.
