April 13, 2025
Sunday 13 April 2025
Oscar Godsell
Sky News
The Coalition and Labor have clashed over defence spending, with both parties promising increased investment amid rising concerns over regional security.
As the federal election approaches, defence spending has become a hotly contested issue between the government and the opposition.
The Coalition has been expected to lift investment in defence from 2.3 percent of GDP to 2.5 percent, though no announcement has yet been made.
This would boost spending by about $15 billion per year and outstrip the Albanese government’s promised military budget increases.
The rumoured increase comes amid a growing national debate over national security and claims of the most “complex strategic landscape” since World War II.
Although the Coalition has not revealed its defence policy, shadow home affairs minister James Paterson told Sky News Sunday Agenda that investment would be a priority.
“We have made it very clear already that we will increase defence spending because Labor is not meeting the challenge of the moment,” he said.
“They say this is the most dangerous time that Australia has faced since the end of World War II, but their actions don't match it.
“They’ve kept defence spending low when it needs to increase. We've already said, for example, we'll spend at least $3 billion on an extra squadron of F-35 fighter jets.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles, however, rejected the claims about Labor’s record on defence spending and accused the Coalition of lacking a strategic plan for industry.
“We have increased by $57 billion over 10 years, $10.6 billion over the forward estimates,” Mr Marles told Sunday Agenda.
“If you look at what we’re spending now in the last financial year, defence spent more on procurement than it had ever spent and will spend more again this year.
"None of that, none of it has been supported by the Coalition."
Mr Marles also responded to accusations of cuts to defence spending, which have been a focal point of the Coalition’s criticisms.
“(Opposition Leader) Peter Dutton is out there peddling a lie around $80 billion of defence cuts. He’s said that 25 times now," he said.
“It is just a flat-out lie and bears no relationship to what the budget papers say.”
Mr Marles said Labor has “reprioritised” $78 billion worth of spending in defence, which has been moved to cover the cost of AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines.
The Albanese government scrapped plans to acquire the F-35 fighter jets that the Coalition has since promised to purchase.
“The reason for that is they are funding future capability under AUKUS from current money today,” Mr Paterson said.
“That means they are cutting capability that we could actually receive in the next few years to deliver AUKUS instead of increasing defence spending today to both deliver AUKUS and deliver the capability that we need.”