Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this motion. The coalition has called on the government to guarantee that the Defence Strategic Review will not lead to cuts in defence spending and programs. I'm deeply concerned by reports that the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence's review could lead to defence acquisitions being cut. This is a worrying return to a Labor government which, when last in power, cut defence spending to its lowest levels since 1938.

Another matter of concern is the appointment of a former defence minister, the former member for Perth, to lead the review. The Prime Minister has said this is the most complex strategic environment Australia has encountered, but what does he do? The Prime Minister appoints the man who oversaw the largest cuts to defence in 70 years to review defence investment. He presided over $5.5 billion in cuts in the 2012 budget alone. It was at this time that we saw defence spending as a percentage of GDP drop to 1.6 per cent, in 2013.

These cuts were felt in a very real way by serving men and women, and were a huge hit to our capability. Defence personnel who were around during the years when the former member for Perth was the defence minister are asking if this review means more cuts to vital equipment and even if their jobs could be on the line. I hope that this review will take into consideration the perspectives of everyone from the diggers through to the officers. What the Australian Defence Force needs now is capability, not more reviews and cuts. Labor must guarantee that they will not use this review as a smokescreen for cuts and delays.

By contrast, the coalition government increased defence spending to two per cent of GDP. We invested more than $270 billion in Australia's defence capability. The former coalition government embarked on the most significant national naval shipbuilding enterprise since World War II. We set the course for the delivery of nuclear submarines. We delivered the Australia, United Kingdom and United States security pact, otherwise known as AUKUS. AUKUS is the biggest development to our national security since the signing of the ANZUS Treaty over 70 years ago. This security pact will maintain stability across the region and keep Australians secure through the acquisition of capabilities which are crucial to Australian naval and defence power in the future.

The former coalition government made substantial progress in transforming the Australian Defence Force into a more capable, agile and potent force to deter and respond to threats. AUKUS goes beyond submarines and critical defence capabilities. Since 2016, the ADF has recognised the need to invest in new bases, particularly in northern Australia. The driver of the change identified in 2016 has accelerated faster than anticipated.

As host of most major international training exercises, Central Queensland can also become a permanent host location for Singapore Armed Forces, US military and British Army rotations. The Central Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils recommend that CQ offers new basing opportunities that can enable the ADF to better shape, deter and respond to emerging threats in our region. Capricornia is home to Shoalwater Bay Training Area and is already a major contributor to the ADF's current capabilities.

I support the following recommendations by CQROC. The first is to relocate the Army's 7th Brigade from the Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane to the Shoalwater Training Area. Once on the outskirts of Brisbane, the Gallipoli Barracks are now surrounded and constrained by suburbia, dislocating Army personnel and their families from the brigade's primary training area. To help ensure the Army's 7th Brigade is ready for future threats, relocating it to a new base adjacent to its primary training area could assist. I also support the recommendation to establish a permanent RAAF presence in Rocky. This will also allow the ADF to leverage aviation deep-maintenance facilities currently being developed by Alliance Airlines, which was also supported financially by the coalition government in a project I fought hard for. Rockhampton Airport is the ideal location for a new east coast base due to its long runway and available land for development. The final recommendation I support is to establish a new school of armour in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area. It would support significant growth in the Army's training requirements for new armoured vehicles.

Australia's strategic environment is rapidly changing, and our military posture needs to change with it. The 2020 Defence Strategic Update makes it clear that Australia's strategic environment has declined rapidly. We are in a period of uncertainty, the likes of which we have not seen for a long time, and the last thing we need is a repeat of the cuts we saw under Labor during the former member for Perth's time as defence minister.

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