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Defence

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Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese could meet in Kananaskis, Alberta, next month.

What will Albanese give Trump on defence? Not much

The prime minister has told colleagues that if they asked for money in the way the US has on defence, they’d be laughed out of the room.

  • James Massola

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra.

‘We’ll determine our defence policy’: PM pushes back on Hegseth pressure over China

Comments from the defence secretary have also drawn a furious response from Beijing, which says the US risks turning the Asia-Pacific region into a “powder keg”.

  • Lisa Visentin

Would Trump’s Golden Dome keep the US safe – and do space lasers work?

Forty years after Ronald Reagan launched Star Wars, the US president wants a modern missile defence shield. What would it target – and would it be effective?

  • Angus Holland
CORRECTS SOURCE- This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows North Korea's new naval destroyer on May 18, 2025, in Chongjin, North Korea. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Failure to launch: Who’s to blame for Kim Jong-un’s dockside disaster?

Destined to be the pride of his revamped navy, the recent launch of North Korea’s latest warship turned into an embarrassment for Kim Jong-un and his regime.

  • Choe Sang-Hun and Jiawei Wang
Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia was open to discussions about increasing defence spending after meeting US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore.

‘Wouldn’t put a number on it’: Marles open to raising defence spending after Hegseth meeting

Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed his US counterpart has pushed Australia to increase its defence spending, but would not divulge what figure Washington would like to see.

  • Lisa Visentin
A special forces soldier on the ground in Afghanistan.

War crimes investigator launches raids in major escalation

The elite anti-war crimes agency probing Ben Roberts-Smith and other ex-SAS soldiers has conducted raids in Perth.

  • Chris Masters and Nick McKenzie
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Australian army soldiers train at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory.

‘Take a look at yourselves’: Albanese blasts think tank on defence spending

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s argument that the government risked creating a “paper” military has angered the prime minister.

  • Matthew Knott
The government says it wants the Port of Darwin returned to Australian hands.

‘We want it in Australian hands’: Albanese cool on US bid to buy Darwin Port

The prime minister also downplayed the prospect of joining any international effort to impose sanctions on Israeli politicians.

  • Matthew Knott
Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on Friday, May 2.

Roberts-Smith’s rabid band of supporters has an outspoken new member – Gina Rinehart

Australia’s richest person has asked why this “brave and patriotic man” should be “under such attack”. The answer is nearly 1000 pages of court judgments.

  • Chris Masters
Ben Roberts-Smith (left) with a former colleague drinking from the prosthetic leg of a dead Afghan man in 2012.

Investigators probe Ben Roberts-Smith over more murders and video drinking from dead man’s prosthetic limb

A secretive and powerful investigation into the disgraced soldier has uncovered damning fresh evidence as well as video of him drinking from a prosthetic leg, which he denied under oath.

  • Nick McKenzie

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/defence-5w8