Labor minister lashes ASPI on its own turf as defence spending debate gets heated
The Albanese government's testy relationship with the think tank was on full display on Wednesday.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has used an appearance at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) to attack the think tank, deepening its already fractious relationship with Labor.
Speaking to ASPI’s defence conference in Canberra on Wednesday, Conroy took aim at a report by the think tank criticising defence spending under Labor, saying: “You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts”.
The Albanese government was rankled last week by ASPI’s Cost of Defence report, which warned needed defence investment had “been put off for another generation” and Australia’s military could be left “brittle and hollowed”.
Conroy flatly rejected that conclusion, stressing Labor had ramped up defence spending by $10 billion as part of the national defence strategy.
