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Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has walked the halls of the Indo Pacific 2025 International Maritime Exposition in Sydney today.
The former PM attended the Sydney conference alongside a record number of international naval delegations and defence industry representatives. The conference is being held at the International Convention Centre Sydney, Darling Harbour, and runs until 6 November.
Indo Pacific 2025 is a collaboration between the Royal Australian Navy and AMDA and is one of the world’s largest maritime expositions, encompassing the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Conference. More than 900 defence exhibitors and over 200 naval delegates from more than 50 nations are attending this year’s event.
The conference brings together delegations, defence industry leaders, academics and strategic thinkers from across the globe, reflecting the scale and significance of Navy’s shared commitment to maritime security.
Speaking exclusively with Defence Connect, Turnbull confirmed his support for a rise with the country’s current defence spend per gross domestic product if Australia wants a capable military and Virginia Class submarine/SSN AUKUS submarine fleet.
“I don’t think our current expenditure on defence is enough to pay for a nuclear navy and all of the other capabilities we need,” he said.
“Everyone talks about naval nuclear propulsion as though it’s a cool thing to have. But it’s not like the difference between having a red car and a blue car. It is massively more expensive, which is why very few countries can afford to do it.
“And even the larger economies than ours, like the UK, struggle to pay for it. So it’s massively expensive.
“The bottom line is we will have to spend more to be able to do everything else plus naval nuclear propulsion. And I’m not saying that in a partisan way. This is just reality. Everyone knows it, but they’re reluctant to acknowledge it.”
Turnbull also outlined some concerns regarding Australia’s future acquisition of yet-to-be-built Virginia Class submarines from the US industrial base.
“I’m not pessimistic or optimistic. I think you’ve got to say that the chances of them (the US) being able to produce two Virginias a year by 2028, which has been their goal, the chances of that being achieved are very low.
“The production rate has been flat for a very long time, despite a lot of extra money going in. So, you know, the problem that we have with AUKUS.
“My criticism of it, is that we’re in a situation where our ability to receive Virginia Class submarines is going to depend on the Americans being able to produce enough for themselves and then more for us … and there is no sign of them being able to lift the production rate.”
This year’s conference explores the theme “Strength at Sea = Security and Prosperity at Home” to encourage strategic dialogue about the role of sea power in the Indo-Pacific region now and into the future.
When asked about the recent changes in the Australian Liberal Party leadership and their current popularity with the public, Turnball carried an ominous warning that the party was straying too far right.
“I think that they’ve (Liberal Party) got to stop, they’ve got to get back to the centre. Unfortunately, they’re heading off into a sort of a political landscape that is defined by Sky News right-wing media,” he said.
“Hence you get all of this culture war stuff, net zero, this culture war … All of this stuff is what you see on Sky News. And if that’s where you want to go, that’s fine, if you want to basically compete with One Nation for 10 per cent of the vote.
“But if you want to win, you’ve got to win a majority, and in our electoral system that means you’ve got to be at the centre.
“If I recommended anyone (to lead the Liberal Party), that would be the kiss of death, but I wouldn’t do it to them.”
