Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

() (): Earlier this morning I did an interview with Joel Fitzgibbon, the member for Hunter, and he belled the cat on the cuts on defence spending on your side. He had the guts to tell the Australian people that we should increase defence spending in this place to two per cent of GDP. As a result of your negligence when it comes to defence spending, defence spending is being cut to 1.56 per cent of GDP—the lowest level since 1938. This is despite the Defence white paper that you released in 2009, where you promised a three per cent annual increase in defence spending. When John Howard came to office in 1996 and he was confronted with a big budget black hole, he quarantined defence spending—he kept it at about two per cent of GDP. When you look around our region, the Singaporeans are spending 3.5 per cent of their GDP on defence, the Indians are spending two per cent of GDP on defence, South Korea are spending 2.5 per cent and we are spending 1.56 per cent. Shame on you! Shame on you, Labor Party! Joel Fitzgibbon, the member for Hunter, had the guts to tell the Australian people, 'You should be spending more on defence.' The Americans have told you off because you are not lifting your side of the bargain. We have an ANZUS alliance, and it is incumbent upon the Australian people to call on the Labor Party to spend more on defence. Stop wrecking the defence of Australia. (Time expired)

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Much and all as I respect the member for Kooyong, accusing me of taking defence spending is going too far—the use of the word 'you' is not appreciated!