Alliance arithmetic
The Albanese government insists it can deliver AUKUS and keep Washington happy without lifting defence spending — but a new NATO benchmark is raising the stakes.
For months, Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles have stuck to a familiar refrain: there’s no need to budge on Australia’s defence spending projections, despite pressure from the Trump administration to lift it to 3.5% of GDP “as soon as possible”.
“What we did is we put forward our budget, we took it to an election and received overwhelming support,” Albanese said on Friday morning in Sydney, responding to the latest call from the White House to boost defence spending.
"We continue to invest in whatever capabilities Australia needs — we’ll continue to do that."
Under Labor, Australia is on track to lift military spending to 2.4% of GDP by mid-2034, up from just over 2% now. Albanese and Marles have insisted it’s not the rate of spending that matters, but how wisely the money is spent. Both have hinted that spending may exceed 2.4% by the 2030s, but say there is no point in setting a specific target.
