One thing that cannot be forgotten in the washup after an election: The challenges Australia faces are no different today than they were the day before the election. And the weakness and inadequacy that characterises Anthony Albanese’s leadership has not changed. That’s been proven in the last week with Albanese being called out by both the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Labor’s failure to properly fund defence. I may be starting out in my shadow portfolios of Defence Industry and Defence Personnel, but I’ve long known about the defence crisis we face under Anthony Albanese. From being given inadequate notice about live fire exercises in our waters to rapidly changing defence technology and cyberattacks from foreign adversaries, our national security environment is heating up. And that’s before we even think about the high profile wars and conflicts happening overseas. But over the last three years, instead of preparing to defend our nation, Labor has cut funding. Before the last election, the Coalition promised that if elected, we would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP over five years, and then to 3% of GDP over ten years. On the other hand, Labor have kept defence spending static at 2% over the last three years, and had no new funding for defence in their last budget. I think any ordinary Australian would look at the increase in global volatility over the past three years, then look at Labor’s decision to put defence in neutral, and know something has gone wrong. And it’s not just about increasing spending for the sake of it. It’s about turning rhetoric into readiness. It’s about having the defence capability to stand on our own two feet and not just rely on our global alliances, as important as they are. It’s about stopping the personnel drain by improving pay and conditions and valuing the service of our defence people so more people are willing to join and stay for the long-haul. Now that our international allies have put Albanese on notice, they must increase spending and make sure it’s going to the right places. And I’m not going to take a backward step fighting for our men and women in uniform. If you are one of those in uniform, know that I fully have your back and am committed to ensuring our nation is as strong and safe as it should be. Yours for REAL solutions, 
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
Senator for the Northern Territory
Shadow Minister for Defence Industry
Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel | 
