Anthony Albanese defends low defence spending after US calls for lift to 3.5pc of GDP

Anthony Albanese has been warned by a former army chief that the government risks ‘abrogating its responsibility’ to the public and those in uniform by failing to increase military funding.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Defence Minister Richard Marles in Singapore on Sunday. Picture: US Department of Defence

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Anthony Albanese has been warned by a former army chief that the government risks “abrogating its responsibility” to the public and those in uniform by failing to increase military funding, as the co-author of the ­defence strategic review called for spending to be lifted to between 3 and 3.5 per cent of GDP.

Ahead of his first in-person meeting with Donald Trump at the G7 in Canada, the Prime Minister on Monday came under pressure from former military chiefs, strategists and the ­Coalition to commit to increasing defence spending beyond the forecast 2.33 per cent share of GDP over eight years.

The national security showdown was triggered after US ­Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Defence Minister Richard Marles during their meeting in Singapore to increase Australia’s defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP “as soon as possible”. Mr Hegseth, who used his Shangri-La Dialogue speech on the weekend to warn about rising conflict threats in the Indo-Pacific and the risk of China invading Taiwan by 2027, publicly encouraged Australia and other regional allies to match the scale of Mr Trump’s ­record defence investment.

The Chinese Defence Ministry on Monday accused Washington of forming “small circles” and ­engaging in “bloc confrontation”. Beijing is a harsh critic of the AUKUS pact and Quad security dialogue, both of which Australia is a member.

As US officials ramp up the pressure on Mr Albanese ahead of his meeting with Mr Trump in a fortnight, opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor on Monday doubled down on the Coalition’s pre-election policy that committed to increasing ­defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP within five years and 3 per cent over the decade.

While Opposition Leader Sussan Ley conducts a sweeping ­review of Peter Dutton’s election policies, Mr Taylor said the ­Coalition “must continue to pursue this ambition, as any serious party of government should”.

Former chief of army Peter Leahy said Labor must take ­urgent action to moderate ­increasing global risks being exacerbated by the US-China trade war and called for “significantly more funding for defence now and well into the future”.

“The almost total lack of ­consideration of defence matters during the recent election campaign and the current focus on a far-off distant, enormously ­expensive force demonstrates how willing our politicians are prepared to tolerate risk,” General Leahy said.

“This is an abrogation of the primary responsibility of our ­elected representatives to provide for the defence and security of the nation and the safety of our servicemen and women.

“Those who wear Australia’s uniform place great trust in those who task and equip them. This trust is not being honoured.”

US Studies Centre head of foreign policy and defence Peter Dean, who co-authored the Albanese government’s DSR, said an increase of at least 3 per cent of GDP was what was currently ­“realistic” for Australia.

“No matter what you think of the Trump administration, they have one thing in their favour: they spend 3.5 per cent on ­defence,” Professor Dean said.

“What they’re saying to us is ‘if we pay 3.5 per cent, so should you’. And there’s a complete legitimacy to that argument. The government knows that it’s going to have to face this question a little bit more head on.”

Mr Taylor, who was narrowly defeated by Ms Ley for the Liberal leadership, said “Australia must commit to increasing our defence spending to at least 3 per cent of GDP, and Labor must find ways to finance it”. “The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. Labor is failing to match this serious duty with funding and action. It needs to catch up or risk jeopardising Australia’s safety,” Mr Taylor writes in The Australian on Tuesday.

Mr Albanese said on Monday he wouldn’t do what the Coalition did in the election campaign and announce “an amount of money” without saying where it was coming from or what it was for.

“That makes no sense. What we need is things that defend us in real terms and that’s what we’ll provide,” Mr Albanese said.

The Labor leader also pushed back against Mr Hegseth’s advice and declared Australia must decide what capabilities it needs and how to deliver them. “That’s what my government’s doing,” he said. “Investing in our capability and investing in our relationships We’ve provided an additional $10bn of investment into defence over the forward estimates. We’re continuing to lift up, that adds up to 2.3 per cent of GDP is where defence spending will rise.”

Speaking with The Australian before the May 3 election, Mr Albanese left open the option of a re-elected Labor government increasing defence spending but rejected any “magic number”. In that interview, Mr Albanese said he was prepared to go beyond the current level of 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence spending but railed against Mr Trump dictating terms on Australia’s defence budget.

Professor Dean said while it was clear Mr Albanese wasn’t committing to spending more on defence to “keep his powder dry” ahead of meeting Mr Trump, the defence strategist urged the Prime Minister not to be dissuaded from increasing defence spending because the US was asking for it. “If you look at the list of people who have publicly come out and said we need to do this prior to Trump’s election, that includes the former Defence secretary Dennis Richardson, former Labor leader Kim Beazley, former chief of the defence force Angus Houston … former secretary of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo,” he said.

“What (Pete) Hegseth is doing is just adding an additional layer to an existing conversation.”

Former Labor defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon said while it was clear Australia needed to spend “a lot more” on defence, there were “entrenched limitations on the pace of any additional investment” that must be considered.

“The real issue is not so much the size of our investment as a percentage of GDP, but the (defence) department’s ability to spend its ­allocation effectively and efficiently,” Mr Fitzgibbon said. “Right now, both history and forward guidance tell us that spending smarter and better must remain the key focus.”

Mr Taylor, who worked closely with Mr Dutton, Andrew Hastie, James Paterson and Jane Hume on the Coalition’s election defence policy, agrees that the debate around defence spending was not just about “how much we spend – it’s how well we spend it”.

“Australia must get better at translating defence investment into deployable outcomes,” he writes. “That means reducing procurement lead times, working with industry early, and creating a stable pipeline of demand so businesses can invest, hire and build.”