Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

We live in a very uncertain time in the Indo-Pacific. It's recognised by countries in our region, it's recognised by the United States and it's recognised by Europeans, including NATO, and many others have had comment on that. The fact is that, now, for our country, is not for a time for weakness but a time for strength. When we look at what the Labor Party presided over when they were in government, they weakened the Australian Defence Force, and we are recovering from it. I say that because the fact is that the Labor Party cut funding from defence. They cut it to a level which was equivalent to 1.56 per cent of GDP, the lowest level since 1938. Mr Speaker, if you want to see an example of weakness when it comes to national security, find yourself a government that cuts defence spending on the cusp of an uncertain period in our region.

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