Labor to accelerate $1b in defence spending
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The news: Defence Minister Richard Marles has revealed $1 billion in defence spending will be brought forward in the federal budget.
The context: Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who will hand down the budget on Tuesday night, has consistently played down the prospect of significant increases in defence spending, with the government having previously committed to a $50 billion boost over a decade.
Australia is facing an increasingly volatile Indo-Pacific region and uncertainty over global security after the return of US President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the Avalon Airshow on Monday, Marles said the decision to accelerate funding was taken because of a need to boost Australia’s defence capabilities.
The money is designed to facilitate the purchase of frigates and prepare Perth’s Stirling naval base to host US submarine rotations, which has been pencilled in to begin in 2027.
Marles revealed an extra $10.6 billion in defence funding over the four-year forward estimates, with $1 billion will be accelerated into the 2026-27 and 2027-28 budget years. All of the funding is included in the government $50 billion pledge over the decade.
The confirmation comes as many Western countries reshape their defence capabilities in response to the return of Trump, who has railed against allies over their defence expenditure and questioned the value of long-standing alliances like NATO.
That has raised questions about the long-term viability of the AUKUS agreement and led to calls for Australia to become less reliant on Washington.
China’s increasingly assertive posture in the Indo-Pacific is also alarming a host of nations, including Australia, whose navies operate in the region.
What they said: “[This is] really there to ensure that the very ambitious timelines that we have in relation to all of this are going to be met,” Marles said.
The source: The Australian
