LABOR CUTS $1.5 BILLION FROM DEFENCE IN OUR MOST UNCERTAIN HOUR

Tuesday 30 May 2023

Labor have cut $1.5 billion from Defence when Australia is facing the most uncertain strategic circumstances since the Second World War.

The Albanese Government must explain why they have cut defence funding, with no new money allocated for Defence, despite their Defence Strategic Review (DSR) warning of Australia's ‘deteriorating strategic environment’.

Defence officials today confirmed “there has been no new funding” for new capabilities over the forward estimates, confirming reports by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) that “this year’s Budget provides $1.5 billion less to Defence over the next three years than the [Coalition] Budget last March”.

Our national security demands strength from our Government and they have failed to deliver.

Last time Labor was in government, Labor slashed Defence funding to its lowest levels since the Second World War.

Today’s hearings have only confirmed what the Coalition has feared: that there is no new money, only cuts, cannibalisation, and a lack of ambition for our nation’s defence.