Cometh the hour: historic opportunity must be grasped

Defence Minister Richard Marles. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Here is the headline statement, more important than anything else in the news cycle. Angus Houston, the most respected former chief of the Defence Force, a softly spoken man of measured words, had a message for his countrymen: “It’s absolutely imperative we review the current strategic circumstances, which I rate the worst I have ever seen in my career and lifetime.”

This is real: Houston doesn’t do hyperbole.

The Albanese government has made an important decision in establishing a strategic review, with a big mandate to recommend changes to the Australian Defence Force structure and orientation, and to impose a reporting deadline of March.

The previous government had grand plans for defence but these all extended out to Star Trek timeframes.

Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles are rightly concerned by the perilous 10 years ahead.

Houston and former Labor defence minister Stephen Smith are good choices to lead the review although Smith is copping some flak for the fact that military spending fell when he was defence minister under Julia Gillard a decade ago.

But military expenditure had been anaemic for most of the Howard government. Smith was also personally responsible for securing the Growler electronic warfare jets, a capability the US shared with no other ally.

The bigger challenge for both Houston and Smith is that as older men, they will have a predisposition for the existing paradigm. But Houston’s stark comments show he gets it. As does Smith. He has continued a deep involvement with strategic issues through the Perth US-Asia Centre and fully comprehends the seriousness of the China threat.

Smith and Houston have a historic opportunity they must grasp. The ADF is not fit for purpose. The old ways are no good, a few new ships for the navy, an eye-glazingly slow expansion for the air force, some compensating kit for the army, all under the assumption we fold our small but perfectly formed forces forever under the wing of American power.

We desperately need, as Marles said, projection and lethality. We could add mass and endurance. We need an asymmetric force that can inflict unacceptable damage on any potential aggressor.

We must spend defence dollars ruthlessly, in accordance with these critical priorities. Smith and Houston will never have a better opportunity to make a difference for their nation.