Election Policy Brief | Defending Australia | Asia Society Skip to main content

Unsupported Browser Detected.
It seems the web browser you're using doesn't support some of the features of this site. For the best experience, we recommend using a modern browser that supports the features of this website. We recommend Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge

  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Global Live Webcasts
    • Program Streams
  • Issues
    • Complex Asia
    • Trade Smarter
    • Living with China
    • Generation Asia
  • Analysis
    • Briefing MONTHLY
    • China Executive Briefing
    • Disruptive Asia
    • Southeast Asia and COVID-19 Project
    • Webcast Videos
    • Explainers
    • Looking Ahead
    • Australian Election Policy Briefs 2022
  • Initiatives
    • Asia Trade and Innovation Hub
    • Supply Chains in Southeast Asia
    • Generation Asia Research Reports
    • Asia Taskforce
    • CEO Roundtables
    • Viet Nam Initiative
    • Australia and Korea: Middle Power Parallels
    • Australia-Japan: Stepping up a Special Strategic Relationship in Asia
  • Experts
    • Asia Society Policy Institute in Australia
    • Distinguished Fellowships
    • Scholar-In-Residence
    • Media Enquiries
  • News
  • Members and Partners
    • Become a Member
    • Our Members
    • Our Partners
  • Support Us
    • Support Asia Society Australia
    • Donate now
    • Planned giving
  • About
    • About Asia Society Australia
    • Our Strategic Plan
    • Our Programs
    • Our People
    • Our Board and Advisory Council
    • For the Media
    • Careers and Internships
    • Contact Us
Australia
Search
Australia
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Global Live Webcasts
    • Program Streams
  • Issues
    • Complex Asia
    • Trade Smarter
    • Living with China
    • Generation Asia
  • Analysis
    • Briefing MONTHLY
    • China Executive Briefing
    • Disruptive Asia
    • Southeast Asia and COVID-19 Project
    • Webcast Videos
    • Explainers
    • Looking Ahead
    • Australian Election Policy Briefs 2022
  • Initiatives
    • Asia Trade and Innovation Hub
    • Supply Chains in Southeast Asia
    • Generation Asia Research Reports
    • Asia Taskforce
    • CEO Roundtables
    • Viet Nam Initiative
    • Australia and Korea: Middle Power Parallels
    • Australia-Japan: Stepping up a Special Strategic Relationship in Asia
  • Experts
    • Asia Society Policy Institute in Australia
    • Distinguished Fellowships
    • Scholar-In-Residence
    • Media Enquiries
  • News
  • Members and Partners
    • Become a Member
    • Our Members
    • Our Partners
  • Support Us
    • Support Asia Society Australia
    • Donate now
    • Planned giving
  • About
    • About Asia Society Australia
    • Our Strategic Plan
    • Our Programs
    • Our People
    • Our Board and Advisory Council
    • For the Media
    • Careers and Internships
    • Contact Us

Election Policy Brief | Defending Australia

by Guy Boekenstein, Northern Australia Fellow, Asia Society Australia

Boekenstein - US Marines in Darwin - US Department of Defence - Flickr
US Department of Defence - Flickr
May 9th, 2022

What is the issue?

The anticipated “khaki” election campaign from the Coalition has so far been overshadowed by the Solomon Island government’s decision to enter into a security arrangement with China.

The Coalition wants to refocus the narrative back to its “record” Defence spending and “historic” initiatives to strengthen alliances and partnerships. But significant questions remain on the nation’s Defence preparedness, including major capability acquisition programs that are almost all delayed and over budget.

Whichever party finds itself in government will face the immensely difficult challenge of reconciling the likely need for Australia to increase defence spending even further at a time of global economic uncertainty, competing social policy needs, and a federal budget deep in deficit.

Where do the major parties stand?

The 2020 Defence Strategic Update articulated the case for a stronger Australia defence posture to supplement the US position in the Indo-Pacific. The 2021 AUKUS announcement added significant weight to this policy not seen since the ANZUS Treaty. While this overall policy approach is supported by the opposition, Labor likely will deliver a new Defence White Paper and has pledged a Force Posture Review if elected (unlike the Coalition).

The Coalition has been muscular in its rhetoric, with announcements to increase personnel numbers, advance missile programs, expand Navy shipbuilding programs, develop a Defence Space program, build autonomous platforms (including submarines), and invest in emerging technologies. The Minister for Defence, Peter Dutton, has backed this up with tough talk around China, including an Anzac Day address comparing the Gallipoli campaign and the rising dictatorships of the 1930s to the current “arc of authoritarianism”.

The Coalition’s main attack point has been around Defence spending, which fell to 1.58 percent of GDP – the lowest amount since 1938 – under Labor. The Coalition has lifted spending to two percent and Labor’s support for this has taken some of the sting out of the political point scoring.

Labor has focused on the capability gaps that Australia will face (and therefore our ability to support allies and partners) – most major new Defence capabilities are still almost a decade away, with the first of the nuclear-propelled submarines unlikely to be ready until about 2040.

Labor has pledged to boost defence capability and “deliver a frank assessment of our capabilities and pipeline on arrival in government”. Detail on what this looks like, funding required and specific capabilities are not yet forthcoming.

On regional Defence engagement, Labor has stated that it “will deepen our regional defence cooperation with close partners – including Japan, India, Singapore and others – to bolster our joint capabilities, shape our strategic environment and uphold the rules of the road”. Again, there is little detail, but one proposal is to establish a Pacific Defence School to deliver practical training for non-commissioned officers.

The Coalition will continue to point to AUKUS, the Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan and other Defence Cooperation Program projects in the region to demonstrate its regional credibility. To date, there have been few new initiatives announced.

Policy recommendations

Australia doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for new platforms to be delivered in the 2030s. More urgency must be injected into our Defence capability program and, if necessary, Australia should buy off-the-shelf platforms that can be procured quickly. For example, the MQ-9B Reaper drone project that was inexplicably cancelled but could have provided armed and remotely piloted drones in the mid-2020s.

This decision is even more puzzling when we look at some of the lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine’s s most effective weapons have been portable and asymmetric in nature – drones, anti-aircraft, anti-ship and anti-tank missiles, and high powered long-arm rifles.

In addition to a Force Posture Review, perhaps a revised Force Structure Review is warranted to learn from these lessons. For example, on current planning the Australian Army will receive an additional 75 Abrams tanks. While different to the Russian tanks deployed in Ukraine that proved vulnerable to small, inexpensive man-portable weapons, perhaps this decision needs to be reviewed. It is notable that the United States is moving towards more agile capabilities (the US Marine Corps is cutting all three of its tank battalions).

There has never been a more important time to match rhetoric with action to support our allies and partners, especially the United States. It is clear that the United States would like a larger footprint in northern Australia. The head of the US Marine Corps, General Berger, emphasised this during a recent visit to Darwin. Other US military leaders have made similar statements and there is a sense of frustration at the lack of speed with which Defence is responding.

Japan is another key relationship that deserves greater attention. There has been good progress in the bilateral Defence relationship, but more can be done. The government should provide Japan with specific proposals for getting the Self-Defense Force to Australia routinely, support enhanced training and exercising, establish a permanent presence embedded within the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and support the required infrastructure. Japan is embracing a more normal defence posture and forging strategic partnerships across the Indo-Pacific, so now is the time to cement ourselves as a trusted partner of choice.

Finally, after decades of focus on the Middle East, there needs to be greater Indo-Pacific literacy built in the ADF and creative, practical initiatives developed in the region, especially with Indonesia and Pacific Island nations.

Defence needs to stop delaying decisions through studies, reviews and incremental approaches to alliance support and infrastructure planning, especially in northern Australia.

There will be political and public perception hurdles to overcome but now is the time to think and act boldly.


Guy Boekenstein is Northern Australia Fellow at Asia Society Australia.

  • Election Policy Briefs collage

    Australian Election Policy Briefs 2022

    Our experts examine the big election issues for Australia in 2022, outline where the major parties stand, and offer policy recommendations.

More Policy Briefs

  • Ivanov - Hong Kong - Igor Son - Unsplash
    series

    Election Policy Brief | Australia’s Future in a Shared Region

    Asia Society Australia’s view on the foreign policy outlook ahead of the 2022 Australian election.
  • Suckling - Solar gift - Kate Ausburn - Flickr
    series

    Election Policy Brief | Climate Change and Clean Energy

    Are the major parties' climate policy proposals enough to arrest man-made climate change, and what should they be doing?
  • Boekenstein - US Marines in Darwin - US Department of Defence - Flickr
    series

    Election Policy Brief | Defending Australia

    What are the major parties planning for Defence in this election, and what are the best policy strategies for national security?
  • Fraser - Myanmar police - R Bociaga - Shutterstock
    series

    Election Policy Brief | Human Rights

    What are the major parties promising to do to support human rights across the region, and what must they do?
  • Byrne - ASEAN Day festivities - Miraclebuggy - AdobeStock
    series

    Election Policy Brief | Engaging Southeast Asia

    How are the major parties looking to engage with Southeast Asia?
  • Rolf - Data and glasses - Kevin-Ku-Unsplash
    series

    Election Policy Brief | Tech Policy

    Where do the major parties stand on digital economy, cybersecurity, social media policy and tech?

Pagination

  • Current page 1
  • Page 2
  • Next page Next
  • Last page Last
About
  • Mission & History
  • Our People
  • Become a Member
  • Career Opportunities
  • Corporate Involvement
visit us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
global network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, D.C.
resources
  • Arts
  • Asia Society Magazine
  • ChinaFile
  • Current Affairs
  • Education
  • For Kids
  • Policy
  • Video
shop
  • AsiaStore
initiatives
  • Arts & Museum Summit
  • Asia 21 Next Generation Fellows
  • Asia Arts Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Society Museum: The Asia Arts & Museum Network
  • Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Asian Women Empowered
  • Center on U.S.-China Relations
  • Coal + Ice
  • Creative Voices of Muslim Asia
  • Global Cities Education Network
  • Global Talent Initiatives
  • U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit
  • U.S.-China Dialogue
  • U.S.-China Museum Summit
Connect
Email Signup For the media
Asia Society logo
©2023 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | Accessibility | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact

Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government.
The views expressed by Asia Society staff, fellows, experts, report authors, program speakers, board members, and other affiliates are solely their own. Learn more.

 

 

  • Visit Us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Global Network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, DC