Election 2025: Call-up for experts as Coalition pledges to give ADF some bite

A Dutton government would prioritise new strike and counter-strike weapons to deter more powerful adversaries.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his defence spokesman Andrew Hastie visit military supplier Blacktree Technology in Western Australia. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

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A Dutton government would prioritise new strike and counter-strike weapons to deter more powerful adversaries, and draft ­defence experts and industry leaders to help overcome procurement blockages.

Peter Dutton’s defence and national security policy, provided to The Australian two days after his details-lite defence policy announcement, says the Coalition would “immediately” convene a national security summit if elected, bringing together government, industry and defence experts to develop a “concrete plan of action”.

Industry leaders would also be appointed to a “defence capability and acquisition commission” to accelerate weapons and equipment purchases.

The Opposition Leader ­revealed on Wednesday the ­Coalition would pump $21bn more into defence than Labor over five years by repealing Labor’s “70c a day” income tax cuts. He promised to lift the defence budget from 2 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2030, and reach the Trump administration’s 3 per cent target by 2035.

But there was scant information on what the money would buy beyond assurances of new missiles and drones, and “massive” infrastructure investment in Western Australia.

The plan is fleshed out in the seven-page policy document, which says the promised closed-door summit would meet “until agreements are reached on ­urgent solutions”.

While still vague on specific capabilities, the document says the Coalition would “prioritise funding and commission projects that rapidly increase Australia’s strike and counter-strike capab­ilities”, including “asymmetric capabilities like missiles, drones, and uncrewed undersea vessels needed to deter a larger ­adversary”.

A NASAMS missile system in action.

The Coalition policy says submissions would be sought from industry on projects that could be implemented within 100 days of being contracted.

“This ambitious call to action will give the government a comprehensive selection of options that can be delivered quickly and at scale by Australian industry, for Australian war fighters,” the policy says.

It says a Dutton government would urgently “get AUKUS back on track”, by establishing an AUKUS national chair position to co-ordinate industry collaboration and develop the wider partnership with action on advanced capabilities under the agreement’s so-called “Pillar 2”.

“AUKUS is a no-fail mission for Australia’s present and future national security,” the policy says.

“It must be progressed with the highest level of urgency and expertise to deliver the capability of nuclear- powered submarines for Australia. This agenda is already dragging thanks to the inertia of the Albanese government, which has not gone unnoticed by our allies.”

The plan says a Dutton government would address a recruiting and retention crisis, which has left the ADF with a shortfall of about 5000 uniformed personnel, “by clearing delays, holding senior leadership to account and restoring a sense of shared purpose”.

A Gray Eagle long-range drone.

It also confirms the Coalition would develop a new whole-of-government national security strategy, as revealed by The Australian, and restore the Home ­Affairs Department “to its rightful place as the pre-eminent domestic national security policy and operations portfolio”.

Mr Dutton has accused Labor of gutting the department by shifting the Australian Federal Police and domestic spy agency ASIO from Home Affairs to the Attorney-General’s Department.

“This means the minister for home affairs is minister in name only – he or she has no operational agencies to deliver on the counter-terrorism mission they are responsible for,” the policy says.

Anthony Albanese this week panned the Coalition’s defence plan as “a media release in search of a ­policy”. “(Mr Dutton) is unable to say where the money would come from, except for … confirming that they will put up income taxes,” the Prime Minister said. “It’s extraordinary that you make this announcement with a very large figure in the tens of billions of dollars (but) you can’t say what you will use the money for.”