Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At its heart, AUKUS is about keeping Australians safe. It is a core pillar of the Albanese government's national security policy. By protecting our nation and safeguarding our interests, we are ensuring that, in an uncertain world, we have the means to defend ourselves.

The National Defence Strategy is clear: we face the most challenging strategic environment since the Second World War and we face it at a time when our economic connections to the world are deeper than ever. Security and prosperity are bound together. The lesson is simple: to defend our nation, physically, economically and ideologically, whilst contributing to regional stability, the ADF must have greater capacity to project power. Importantly, AUKUS is not just an announcement; it's a partnership that's being delivered. Since March 2023, progress has been real and measurable. That is why we are investing in conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines. They will give Australia reach and capability we have never had before. They place us alongside only six other nations able to operate platforms of this calibre.

AUKUS is one of the greatest industrial undertakings in our history. It will create around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years in South Australia. It will underpin industries and supply chains across the nation. To solidify AUKUS, this year alone we have signed the Geelong treaty with the UK, underpinning SSN-AUKUS cooperation. We've invested $480 million in the new Skills and Training Academy campus in SA. The member for Sturt and I attended the sod turning earlier this year with the Premier of South Australia, along with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.

We've launched an industry led supplier qualification program and we have released Australia's first AUKUS Submarine Industry Strategy. AUKUS is about not only security but also prosperity. This is a future made in Australia, by Australians, with skills, training and jobs that will last for generations. This sits within a bigger picture for Australia. The Albanese Labor government has increased defence funding to record levels, the biggest peacetime increase in our history, because this is a partnership that the Albanese government believe in and we see the benefits of it in the short and the long term. That's why we're backing it in financially. The 2025-26 budget included an extra $10.6 billion over the forward estimates and $57.6 billion over the decade. Defence spending is now 2.04 per cent of GDP, rising to 2.36 per cent by 2033-34.

Last year Defence spent $16.6 billion on acquisitions—a record. This year it will exceed $17.4 billion. So, even when the coalition gave us a hospital pass and slashed defence spending by $20 billion, we are the ones yet again cleaning up their mess. But what would the coalition know about proper defence policy today? Their election policy on defence was nothing short of a piece of fiction. Now, having stood before the Australian public and not provided any detail about where their defence money was coming from or going to, we have the member for Hume saying we aren't spending enough as a percentage of GDP. Senator Henderson said it best herself when she stated that the coalition's policy on defence is just 'an afterthought'. Quite frankly, I agree with the member for Canning himself when he said it was embarrassing to campaign in the election with no defence policy.

The opposition should be looking inward and reflecting. What were their plans for an underfunded Defence Force? Would they ever have provided some concrete numbers for the Australian people or just continued to cross their fingers and hope? Would they have just let our international partnerships and relationships wither and perish?

The way I see it, the difference could not be clearer. On one side there is the Albanese Labor government—$57.6 billion in new defence funding, record acquisitions, the delivery of AUKUS, jobs and skills for Australians. On the other side, there is confusion, cuts and neglect. The Australian people expect more than rhetoric. They expect results. This government is providing them. AUKUS is how we strengthen our security; defence investment is how we guarantee our prosperity. It's a simple equation, isn't it? And it's one we believe in, because security and prosperity together are how we secure Australia's future.

In closing, I had the very good fortune of being on Talisman Sabre for a week just prior to us sitting. That was a bloody good example of just how well equipped our Defence Force is, with the cooperation between 19 countries across this globe.

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