Coalition warns Trump’s return means Australia ‘can’t take anything for granted’
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The news: The opposition's defence spokesman Andrew Hastie says Australia “can’t take anything for granted” after US President Donald Trump’s return, as he unveiled the Coalition’s $21 billion defence strategy.
The context: The Coalition unveiled an additional $21 billion boost to Australia’s armed forces as part of its long-awaited defence strategy released on Wednesday.
Speaking in Perth, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton confirmed the splurge would bring overall defence spending above 2.5% of GDP — up from the current 2.04% — within five years. That’s in contrast to Labor’s current plan, which would see spending rise to 2.3% by 2033.
Dutton said his plan would enable the purchase of additional F-35 fighters while securing the AUKUS deal to acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US.
The opposition leader’s aspirational goal is 3% of GDP within the next decade, which would match demands from the Trump administration. But he stressed that Kim Beazley, a former Labor leader and defence minister, had also called for that rate.
“This election is between Anthony Albanese and I,” Dutton said, rejecting suggestions the measure was a response to Trump’s demands.
Australia’s region is the centre of a power struggle between the US and China, and Dutton accepted that Beijing factored into his thinking on increased defence spending.
“But it's not just that. It's the fact that when you look at what's happening in Europe … that has NATO countries deeply concerned at the moment,” he said.
Trump’s increasingly isolationist outlook — he has questioned the value of partnerships like NATO — has alarmed some of Washington’s closest allies and raised questions in Australia about the long-term viability of AUKUS.
Speaking alongside Dutton, Hastie warned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s return showed “we can’t take anything for granted anymore”.
What they said: “America is moving to an America-first posture. We have a strong relationship with them, but can't take anything for granted,” Hastie said on Wednesday.
The source: Peter Dutton press conference
