Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the member for Banks' motion. Maintaining strong, financial support for our nation's defence is of particular importance to my electorate of Ryan, which is home to Gallipoli Barracks at Enoggera. Many service men and women have spoken to me about the harsh and sudden cuts under the previous government and the compromising effect that had on the Australian Defence Force. There is no greater responsibility for our national government than the defence of our nation, our people and their interests. This requires complex strategic judgements about risks and opportunities in the international environment. It means providing the necessary financial support to ensure an effective Australian Defence Force that is able to make its contribution in meeting current and future challenges.

The Obama administration announced a military and diplomatic 'pivot' towards Asia. Hillary Clinton, the then United States Secretary of State, emphasised the importance of the Asia-Pacific, noting that nearly half the world's population resides there, making it vital to American economic and strategic interests. Australia is able to draw the same conclusion, as our closest trading partners are from within the Asia-Pacific region, and it is in our interest to help maintain order within our own neighbourhood.

The 2013 Defence white paper understood the importance of an ongoing economic and military shift to the Indo-Pacific as a natural extension of the 2009 Defence white paper's emphasis on Australia's interest in the stability of the wider Asia-Pacific region. Growing trade, investment and energy flows across this broader region are strengthening economic and security interdependencies. These two factors combined are also increasingly attracting international attention to the Indian Ocean, through which some of the wold's busiest and most significant trade routes pass. For Australia, this increasingly more complex Indo-Pacific environment will make it more challenging for us to achieve or influence outcomes. Asian countries will balance a broader range of interests and partners, and Australia's voice will need to be clearer and stronger to be heard.

It is understood that defence planning is, by its very nature, a complex and long-term business. Defence planning is one area of public policy where decisions taken in one decade have the potential to affect Australia's sovereignty and freedom of action for decades to come. Defence spending is primarily tied up in long-term contracts for infrastructure and equipment, as well as long-term commitments of personnel to foreign aid deployments and other international security programs. This does not leave much room in the defence budget for short term cuts and 'efficiencies'.

The previous government pushed a Defence-wide cultural change towards operational efficiency. This is most certainly a positive idea, as all areas of government, including Defence, could be made more efficient. However, even when Defence is on board to move towards a more efficient operation, such a cultural shift will require incremental change over at least a five-year period. The original incentive for a cultural shift towards efficiency within Defence was made on the promise by the previous government that any savings made would be able to be reinvested by Defence for defence purposes.

The problem occurred when the Labor government then turned around, after having taken a wrecking ball to the economy, and decided to take the money 'saved' by the efficiency measures from Defence even before the measures had been realised. The previous government allocated insufficient funding to provide for all of Australia's defence needs. The real cost of military equipment continues to rise and the operational demands and strategic challenges for our defence forces remain high and yet the previous government insisted on ripping the innards from defence. It is vital that we maintain the effectiveness of our nation's defence force and spontaneously cutting funding is a certain way of undermining its strength. Similar issues can arise when defence spending is increased too rapidly. Defence planning, by its nature, requires long-term preparation to enter into new contracts, recruit new personnel and invest in new infrastructure with lasting budget certainty.

I am proud to stand on this side of the chamber where we recognise the crucial role our defence force plays in securing Australia's borders, strengthening our relations with our neighbouring countries and protecting our interests overseas through our commitment to steadily and incrementally increase defence expenditure to two per cent of GDP within a decade. The coalition is proving our commitment to protect and defend our people and to enhance Australia's national security interests, by bolstering our defence capabilities.

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