THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CANNING

STATEMENT
NO-SHOW ALBANESE GOVERNMENT WEAK ON DEFENCE

WEDNESDAY 7 AUGUST 2024

The Albanese Government is again a no-show on defence. They won’t send a warship to help our allies—in our immediate region—to secure freedom of navigation and overflight in an important strategic military exercise.

Instead of sending a warship to join the United States, Canada and The Philippines in the South China Sea, we are only fielding a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft.

The Opposition commends the contribution of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft and recognises the professionalism our crew will bring to the joint exercises.

But this latest no-show from Labor proves they are weak on defence, and can’t be trusted to back our allies on the international stage.

This is a pattern of weakness in defence from the Albanese Government.

Back in December 2023, the Albanese Government declined to send a warship to protect maritime trade in the Red Sea. Our Navy had a warship ready, but they weren’t ordered to go.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said at the time, ‘the focus of our naval efforts right now is on our immediate region’. He even said they were ‘looking at ways in which we can assert freedom of navigation within our immediate region’.

Now, in the immediate region Richard Marles talked about, when we’ve been called upon to help assert joint freedom of navigation and overflight exercises in the South China Sea, there’s no Australian warship.

We’re missing again. Labor can’t be trusted on defence and national security.

ENDS