Anzac, a day to look back and take stock of security

It is decades since Australians have commemorated Anzac Day with strategic tensions running so high. The sacrifices of Diggers of past generations, and their loved ones who missed them for many years, and in some cases still do, are a reminder of what can happen, even to people of peace-loving nations. Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Chinese militarisation of the South China Sea, its crushing resistance in Hong Kong and now its deal with Solomon Islands, Australia’s national security and defences have emerged as important election issues.

On Sunday, Scott Morrison warned a Chinese military base in Solomon Islands would be a “red line”, as Beijing aggressively undermines Australia’s influence on the ground through big-ticket projects and opaque funding programs controlled by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Labor is using the Solomons-China deal to attack the Coalition during the election campaign. The Prime Minister says Australian aid to Solomon Islands had been “very effective”, but the Chinese government does “not play within the same rules and there is lots of vulnerability in our region to that influence”. Australia is outspending China by about 3:1 on foreign aid in the Pacific nation, but has been frustrated by Chinese diplomats using spending promises to boost their influence.

Opposition defence spokesman Brendan O’Connor made a sensible point when he said Labor in government would overhaul Defence’s procurement system to get more firepower into service quickly, including armed drones boosting missile stocks. We need to hear more details and costings. And voters need to hear if Mr O’Connor would be defence minister in an Albanese government or whether deputy leader Richard Marles would take the portfolio. But Mr Marles faces serious questions over the fact Australian taxpayers paid for him to conduct meetings in Beijing organised by the Chinese government and to give a pro-China speech that he cleared with the Chinese embassy before he left Australia. As reported on Monday, Mr Marles also breached parliamentary rules by failing to disclose the sponsored section of his trip to Beijing. But he charged taxpayers nearly $6200 for the first part of the visit when he had meetings with a senior Chinese Communist Party official and gave the speech that called for closer military ties between China and Australia. His record will not help the opposition.

On Anzac Day, Defence Minister Peter Dutton’s view that the nation’s strategic position is as “dire’’ as it was in the lead-up to World War II provides plenty for Australians to think about at traditional dawn services and marches. Mr Dutton was correct when he said responding to the challenges would cost money, for additional personnel and investment in technology and equipment. Amid such an outlook, minor-party and so-called independent candidates who are not serious about prioritising economic growth and national security have little worthwhile to offer.

Monday’s Anzac Day, 107 years since the Gallipoli landing, is poignant, with relatively few of the million Australians who joined up to save the nation in World War II surviving. Their average age is 97. After long lives, those fortunate enough to return from Europe, North Africa, the Burma railroad, the Kokoda Track, Guadalcanal and other parts of the Pacific are fading fast, as their contributions burn stronger than ever in our national psyche.

Lest we forget.