Australia must ‘build and maintain a strong deterrent’ to regional aggressors: Hastie

Opposition defence spokesman calls for investment in strike bombers, a bigger military budget and an appeal to young people’s sense of duty.

Andrew Hastie says ‘the window is closing fast’ for Australia to prepare for a major conflict. Picture: Marie Nirme

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie says Australia needs to invest in bombers, be prepared to spend “well above” 2 per cent of GDP on defence, and appeal to young people’s sense of duty to build a stronger military.

The former SAS captain and former assistant defence minister told a business breakfast in Perth on Tuesday that “the window is closing fast” for Australia to prepare for a major conflict.

As the government’s defence strategic review chairs prepare to hand Richard Marles their interim report this week, Mr Hastie said the nation needed to “build and maintain a strong deterrent” against “unilateral military adventurism” by any regional aggressor.

“I don’t want to discuss particulars here today except to make clear that we need to build strike capabilities that can hold an adversary at risk beyond the archipelago to our north,” he told the Business News breakfast.

“(We need) strike bombers, precision guided missiles and unmanned autonomous vehicles – in the skies and in the seas below.”

Mr Hastie said he remained hopeful the government’s defence strategic review, due to be completed in March, would deliver good outcomes.

But he said last week’s budget, which saw inflation wipe $2.8bn from Defence’s purchasing power in just 12 months, did not inspire confidence.

“If we are serious about the strategic challenges and the capabilities we need, we must have an honest conversation about what we need to spend – and it must be well above 2 per cent of GDP,” Mr Hastie said.

“The lesson of Ukraine and its lion-hearted defence is that we must first be prepared and able to defend ourselves if we expect the support of our allies and neighbours.”

He said the bipartisan commitment to expand the size of the ADF by 18,500 by 2040 would be a “huge task” to achieve, given the tight market, ageing population and declining fertility rate.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute strategist Marcus Hellyer says the stealthy B21 offers a long-range strike capability.

Mr Hastie said the key to appealing to “Gen Z” and the younger “Gen Alpha”, which Defence needed to recruit, was to develop “a message that appeals to young hearts and minds searching for purpose”.

“Emphasising the service ethos is critical. Duty, honour and country,” he said.

“They may seem antiquated, but they are values and principles that call people to stand and fight for something bigger than themselves. Aren’t these values we would all want to see in our employees?

“Kids are waiting to be inspired and challenged by traditional values of service to country and to their fellow Australians.”

Mr Hastie was not alone in calling for Australia to acquire bombers, with a number of Australian Strategic Policy Institute strategists urging Australia to purchase the United States’ in-development B-21 Raider to help close the expected capability gap before the arrival of nuclear powered submarines.

ASPI’s Marcus Hellyer said the stealthy B21 offered a long-range strike capability that could “impose greater cost on potential great-power adversaries at greater range from Australia”.

Australia has not operated bombers since the retirement of the RAAF’s F-111’s in 2010.