Greens’ defence policy ‘insane’

Peter Jennings wants the Greens to be given classified briefings on national security if the minor party wins the balance of power so it can recalibrate its policy.

Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt addresses the National Press Club in Canberra this month. Picture: AAP

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings says the Greens should be given classified briefings on Australia’s national security outlook if the minor party wins the balance of power so it can recalibrate its “insane” defence policy.

Mr Jennings said the Greens approach to national security would “effectively turn Australia into a non-aligned neutral (state) with a defence budget about the level of New Zealand’s”.

“And that would make us ripe for the picking in terms of China’s attempts to dominate the region and our island neighbours,” he said. “It’s crazy stuff but also dangerous in the sense that if the Greens were controlling the balance of power in parliament somewhat, they would have to be educated about this issue.”

He said the party should receive classified briefings because “something would have to be done to try and knock them off this fantasyland approach. Anyone who doesn’t see China as a threat has clearly not been reading the newspapers.”

Greens peace and disarmament spokesman Jordon Steele-John told The Australian on Monday that concern over the Solomons-China agreement was “paternalistic and actually racist”, and the future of Taiwan was not a direct concern for Australia or the US. The Greens want defence spending slashed, the AUKUS deal scrapped and parliament to have final say over whether the nation can go to war.

A Labor campaign spokesman told The Australian the ALP respected “the right of the ­people and the government of the Solomons to make sovereign decisions about its security … However, Labor is none the less deeply concerned by the prospect of a new security agreement between the government of Solomon Islands and the People’s Republic of China.

“Such an agreement would have serious implications for Australia and our shared region.

“Australia should be the partner of choice for our Pacific partners to address shared challenges but the Morrison government’s failure to deliver real climate ­action has undermined this.” He also said “Labor supports AUKUS and recognises the Defence budget will need to grow”.

Labor has committed to Defence spending of at least 2 per cent of GDP.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said Australia would need to improve its defence capabilities to meet the threat posed by Beijing.

Labor says it is deeply concerned by the prospect of a new security agreement between the government of Solomon Islands and the People’s Republic of China. Picture: Getty Images

“We’ve got the Greens out today – who if Mr Albanese is to be prime minister would be in government with the Greens – talking about closing down Pine Gap, stripping billions of dollars from the Australian Defence Force,” he said. “It’s dangerous at exactly the wrong time.

“As you’ve seen the Greens out today saying that they see no threat from China militarising ports in the Indo-Pacific – I mean we are going to need more surface fleet vessels. We are going to need more submarines. We are going to need more assets in the sky.

“There’s more investment that we’re making with industry partners ... in drone technology, in autonomous vehicle technology.

“All of that is going to be part of the defence picture over the course of the next few years, the next couple of decades as well.”

Senator Steele-John told The Australian that Labor and the ­Coalition were “happy to see Australia treated as an American aircraft carrier”, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing. “The Greens absolutely oppose this. We must have an independent foreign and defence policy, which allows us to work with our neighbours to de-escalate,” he said.

The senator also said Australia should butt out of the affairs of Pacific states, arguing that they should be free to “defend their territorial boundaries and build relationships” as they saw fit.