Coalition goes from Price to Price on Defence industry

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley moved this week to replace Senator Nampijinpa Price in the Shadow Defence Personnel and Defence Industry portfolio with former Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price. Price is a safe pair of hands in the portfolio given she is a moderate ally of the leader’s and was Defence Industry Minister during the Morrison Government from 2019 to 2022. Melissa Price’s knowledge of the inner workings and challenges of Defence and Defence industry policy will prove invaluable to the Opposition. The Opposition Leader dumped Senator Nampijinpa Price from the frontbench after Senator Price repeatedly declined to support her leadership. The saga was triggered after Senator Price made comments about Indian migrants being favoured by Labor because it shored up the party’s electoral support. The appointment came as it was finally confirmed that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The meeting was confirmed

Defence spending gets a NATO makeover

In case you missed it Australian Defence spending went from just over 2 per cent of GDP to 2.8 per cent of GDP in the blink of an eye this week. The new figure was provided by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles on the ABC’s Insiders program. DPM Marles insisted that if Australia calculated its defence spending the way NATO countries did then Australian defence spending would be much higher. The new figure is understood to include elements like Defence pensions, spending on intelligence and infrastructure not previously included. The comments come ahead of Mr Albanese’s meeting with US President Donald Trump next week where no doubt tariffs and defence spending will be a topic of discussion and perhaps provide an insight into how US demands for greater defence spending might be handled. The Trump administration wants Australia to increase its Defence spending to at least 3.5 per cent of GDP to counter the rise of China. In June, President Trump attended a NATO summit where the member co– 5 per cent. The only holdout was Spain. The US is demanding allies spend more on Defence, so Washington does not have to do so much of the heavy lifting. In NATO’s case the need to increase Defence spending was linked to countering Russia and supporting Ukraine in its ongoing conflict. Australia has been urging the US to remove all tariffs given it is such a close and reliable ally.

China spectre hangs over Pacific Defence deals

After assiduously boosting efforts to support Pacific nations since coming to government, the Albanese Government has suffered twin diplomatic setbacks with neither Papua New Guinea nor Vanuatu at this stage signing new Defence pacts with Australia. The spectre of China and Chinese influence looms large over both deals. This follows Vanuatu’s similar rejection of a security agreement with Australia just eight days earlier. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape managed to save face by releasing a non-binding communique, with Mr Albanese insisting the deal would be signed once both government’s respective Cabinet’s had signed off on it. Prime Minister Marape maintained it was PNG that had approached Australia for a security deal. The Australia-PNG deal is understood to have ANZUS treaty like conditions in that an attack on one country would be considered an attack on the other, requiring both to respond. The deal was also to integrate the ADF and PNGDF with Australians able to ser

Climate to wreak havoc with supply chains

The Albanese Government has released a dire National Climate Change report ahead of releasing its 2035 emissions reduction target of 62-70 per cent. The National Climate Change Risk Assessment released by the Australian Climate Service (ACS) paints a grim picture of the economic, environmental and health risks of global warming. The report lays out several scenarios up to 3 degrees increase in average temperatures warning all carry dire impacts. Heatwaves, tropical cyclones, bushfires, severe floods are all likely to be more frequent as are deaths from heatwaves. For business, the report predicts higher insurance costs, more lost work days due to illness, eroding government tax revenue and disruptions to global trade including industry supply chains. However, some climate change analysts were questioning the report’s findings suggesting the ACS was relying on contestable modelling and worst-case scenarios. In releasing the report, the ACS conceded there were “inherent limitations in the scope and availabilit

PM’s $12 billion Henderson expansion

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week announced a $12 billion spending boost for the Henderson shipbuilding precinct in WA to support AUKUS and continuous naval shipbuilding. Mr Albanese said the initial new spending was a downpayment with the full cost over a decade expected to be around $25 billion, supporting 10,000 direct jobs and providing opportunities for small and medium sized businesses over two decades. Initial investment will underpin: the construction of surface vessels, starting with Army’s Landing Craft, the domestic build of Australia’s general-purpose frigates; Facilities to support the sustainment of Australia’s surface combatant vessels; Contingency docking capabilities for Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear¬ powered submarine fleet; and Depot-level maintenance, including graving docks. The commitment builds on the initial $127 million commitment to progress planning for the Defence