I’m worried. Albo’s weakness is no longer a laughing matter. He’s now putting Australia’s freedom and security in danger. The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth just warned Australia to toughen up in the face of growing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aggression … … and Albo just flatly ignored him. The hide on our Prime Minister. Just five months ago Chinese warships were conducting live fire exercises while circumnavigating Australia. Albo’s response? Don’t worry, the US will save us if anything serious happens! Let’s try and see this from the Americans' point of view. The Australian Prime Minister, who has never had a real job, refuses to sack Kevin Rudd as US Ambassador even though he called our President “the village idiot”. But when he’s asked to spend a little more money to help us defend his country, he laughs in our face and tells us that he won’t bother because we will come and help him no matter what. Albo is embarrassing us all. He is turning us into the friend who never buys a round. It leaves me wondering why. Maybe deep down he hates the West and all it stands for and would prefer we just adopt the Chinese model with Australian characteristics. Whatever it is, this isn’t just weak leadership, it’s dangerous, and it’s leaving us vulnerable to provocation from a growing CCP threat. America, for example, spends nearly 3.5 per cent of its GDP on defence. They’re telling allies that it’s time to do the same. The UK listened, and they’ve got a Labour government lifting it to 3 per cent and higher. But under Labor, Australia is stuck at a pathetic 1.9 per cent. Do you really feel safe when our armed forces are in the state they’re in? Our brave ADF men and women deserve better than a Labor leader that doesn’t even believe in paying his own way. Let me be perfectly clear: The CCP dragon is breathing down our necks. We’re on the front line in this Pacific theatre, and we need to pull our weight. Now is no time for weakness. Now is no time for laziness. Now is no time for petty political games. And now is certainly no time to distance ourselves from our biggest ally. I think it’s time Australia pulled its weight when it comes to protecting our borders. I think it’s time Australia toughened up and lifted our defence budget to match our allies. And frankly, I think it’s time Albo pulled his bloody head in. Yours sincerely, 
Matthew Sheahan Executive Director, ADVANCE |