‘For us to determine’: Albanese pushes back on Trump pick’s defence call
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed back on calls from the Trump administration for a major boost in defence spending, as the Coalition promised to spend a “much higher proportion” of gross domestic product on defence if it wins the federal election.
Elbridge Colby, US President Donald Trump’s choice to be head of policy at the Pentagon, told a congressional committee he expected Australia to spend at least 3 per cent of gross domestic product on defence to combat the rise of China, as this masthead revealed on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government’s spending on defence.Credit: Dan Peled
Responding to Colby’s intervention, Albanese told reporters in Canberra that “Australia determines our national interest” and Labor had already boosted spending on the military.
“My government is allocating significant additional resources for defence,” he said.
“That is being rolled out, including missiles, including a range of assets that improve both our capability, but also importantly, our delivery.”
The government announced last year that it would spend an extra $50 billion on defence over the next decade, with spending as a proportion of GDP projected to rise from 2.02 per cent currently to 2.33 per cent by 2034 – still well below the target set by Colby.
Elbridge Colby is Donald Trump’s choice to be under-secretary of defence for policy at the Pentagon.Credit: Bloomberg
Leading defence economist Marcus Hellyer said lifting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade would require a “very significant and rapid increase” from the current $56 billion to $106 billion, a 90 per cent funding increase.
Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume appeared to suggest the Coalition was prepared to fall in line with Colby’s funding comments, telling radio 3AW that it was important for Australia to meet “the expectations of our strategic partners”.
