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Albanese rebuffs Trump over call to lift to defence spending

While Labor comes under fire over military readiness, figures show defence spending as a share of the federal budget is at highest in almost a decade.

Andrew Tillett and Jessica Sier

Mar 6, 2025 – 4.56pm

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Canberra/Beijing | The proportion of taxpayers’ money allocated to defence is at its highest since 2017, an analysis of budget papers reveals, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brushed off calls from the Trump administration to boost military spending despite China stepping up its tempo in the regional arms race.

Albanese on Thursday defended the speed of the government’s increase in defence spending after Elbridge Colby, who has been nominated to become the Pentagon’s under-secretary for policy, urged Australia to lift its military budget to 3 per cent of gross domestic product to counter China.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery.

Jessica Sier is the North Asia Correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. She is based in Tokyo, Japan. Jessica has previously written on technology, global capital markets and economics.