‘Gap is glaring’: Push to increase defence spending as Australia ranked 15th in world
Amid a push for Australia to increase military spending, new data shows we rank just 15th among global defence budgets – and are dwarfed by Saudi Arabia, Poland and India.
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Australia is lagging behind Poland on defence spending despite rising threats from China and questions about our security deal with the United States.
New data has revealed that Australia sits 15th on the global list of defence budgets across the world, with its $55.7 billion budget.
Australia spends less than half of the defence budgets of the UK, Saudi Arabia, Poland and India.
China’s $483 billion defence budget is 10 times more than Australia, as it supercharges its navy to become the biggest in the world including new destroyers, frigates, corvettes and amphibious warships.
The United States remains the world’s largest defence spender, pouring $1.5 trillion into defence, or 37 per cent of the global military budget.
President Donald Trump has been urging partners to raise their defence spending, with his Defence Secretary Pete Hegsethurging Australia to increase its defence budget from 1.9 to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has labelled that Australia’s “sovereign military gap is glaring”.
“Washington’s treaty commitments and defence guarantees can no longer be taken for granted, if indeed they ever were,” the ASPI Cost of Defence report said.
The report also warned that China was developing longer range missiles that could be a direct threat to Australia, as well as investing heavily in cyber warfare and space capabilities.
Australia was also only getting limited bang for its buck, with our higher wages chewing up 30 per cent of our defence budget despite having only 58,000 defence personnel.
China has more than 2 million in its Army, navy and Air Force, while India has 1.4 million who are paid far less than Australia’s highly-trained soldiers.
Ukraine was currently spending the most on defence in terms of GDP, with 34 cents out of every dollar being spent defending itself against Russia.
Russia, in comparison, was spending 7.1 per cent of its GDP on the war, but still only half of what China was paying for its military.
The details about Australia’s defence spending comes after Australia’s Chief of Defence Force, Admiral David Johnston, warned last week that Australia may have to face direct threats for the first time since World War II.
David Andrews, senior policy adviser at the ANU National Security College, said there was a need to increase defence spending amid rising threats in the region.
“The priorities have been detailed in the National Defence Strategy and the Defence Strategic Review. It’s now that we need to dial it up to 11 (out of 10),” he said.
The push to increase defence spending comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese continues to press ahead with plans for universal childcare and $8.5 billion in funding of bulk billing doctors appointments and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Mr Andrews said tax reform was needed to increase defence spending.
“I don’t think we can afford it without significant tax reform,” he said.
Australia has started to ramp up its defence industry under the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise.
A new guided missile factory is being built in Newcastle, NSW – the first factory for defence supplier Kongsberg outside Norway – with the first weapons to come off the assembly line in 2027.
Mr Albanese rejected claims that Australia was lagging on defence spending.
“I think Australia should decide what we should spend on Australian defence,” he said.
“I’ve made it very clear – we will support the capability that Australia needs.
“Arbitrary figures lead to a cul-de-sac. And we want to make sure as well that every single dollar that defence spends results in actual assets.”
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Originally published as ‘Gap is glaring’: Push to increase defence spending as Australia ranked 15th in world
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