{"id":72408,"date":"2022-05-05T18:40:43","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T08:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=72408"},"modified":"2022-05-05T18:39:11","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T08:39:11","slug":"plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

In this afternoon\u2019s defence debate<\/a> at the National Press Club, much of the Labor\u2013Liberal consensus was as firm as ever: more money for the military, build nuclear submarines, worry about China.<\/p>\n

Both sides concur on scary times. Then the politics kicks in hard, as it must only a fortnight from the vote.<\/p>\n

The Liberals argue that Australians should be scared about how \u2018weak\u2019 the Labor Party is on defence spending. Stick with the government with a firm record, advises Defence Minister Peter Dutton, and don\u2019t risk Labor.<\/p>\n

The pushback from Labor\u2019s shadow defence minister, Brendan O\u2019Connor, is that it\u2019s scary how little the government has actually delivered to deal with the times. O\u2019Connor said that the coalition government had six defence ministers in the nine years since 2013. Under Scott Morrison as prime minister, there\u2019d been four defence ministers in four years. The result had been \u2018inadequate oversight and focus on this portfolio\u2019.<\/p>\n

These were the political parameters for the election debate between Dutton and O\u2019Connor. View the contest using a series of headings.<\/p>\n

Scary strategic settings. <\/strong>\u2018We are facing a future that is more uncertain and a region that is less safe,\u2019 Dutton said. What was unthinkable even a year ago, he said, is now our reality, 70 days into Russia\u2019s \u2018immoral and illegal invasion\u2019 of Ukraine. China\u2019s intimidation and coercion, he said, is \u2018threatening the sovereignty and prosperity of every Indo-Pacific nation\u2019. Ditto, said O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

China. <\/strong>The two sides agree on a different, scary China (\u2018alarming\u2019, said Dutton). The politics is in Dutton\u2019s claim that Labor would appease Beijing and that China wants Labor to win the Australian election:<\/p>\n

We are dealing with the reality of a new China. Australians should be wide-eyed about this. I think people should be under no illusion. There\u2019s no need to embellish the intelligence that we\u2019re reading. There\u2019s no need to pretend that something is happening.<\/p>\n

The fact is that every like-minded country has drawn a similar conclusion about the direction of China. Now there\u2019s no doubt in my mind that the Chinese Communist Party would like to see a change of government at the 21 May election. No question at all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Responding that Dutton\u2019s comment was untrue, O\u2019Connor said China would get no benefit from a Labor victory: \u2018We know China has changed. We know it\u2019s now more assertive, more aggressive, more coercive.\u2019<\/p>\n

He criticised the Morrison government for abandoning strategic ambiguity about a potential war over Taiwan. But Labor did not blame the government for China\u2019s shifts, O\u2019Connor said: \u2018I\u2019ve made it unequivocally clear that it\u2019s not the Australian government or Australia that has changed its behaviour. It is China.\u2019<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor questioned Dutton on his November comment that it was \u2018inconceivable\u2019<\/a> that Australia would fail to join the US in a Taiwan conflict. The Labor shadow minister asked the defence minister if he\u2019d reflected that it was wrong to answer the hypothetical question.<\/p>\n

Dutton replied: \u2018Do I think we would shirk from our responsibility to be a good ally with the US? No, I don\u2019t. And I don\u2019t think that would be in the interests of our country.\u2019<\/p>\n

South Pacific and Solomon Islands. <\/strong>O\u2019Connor said the government had \u2018dropped the ball in the Pacific. Not being seen to treat Pacific island countries fairly or seriously. Cutting foreign aid. Mocking their concerns about climate change, by failing to comprehend the importance of soft-power diplomacy.\u2019<\/p>\n

He said the relationship with Solomon Islands had deteriorated and the Solomons\u2019 security pact with China was a Canberra failure: \u2018It\u2019s happened under Scott Morrison\u2019s watch and he has to take some responsibility.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dutton responded that Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had not criticised Australia: \u2018He\u2019s not saying that the relationship is broken. He\u2019s not saying that Australia is an unreliable partner.\u2019<\/p>\n

Defence spending. <\/strong>The consensus on 2% of GDP on defence is a talisman grasped by both sides, even as inflation asks new questions<\/a> about the value that can be delivered.<\/p>\n

Dutton said the government is building a \u2018larger, stronger and better defence force\u2019, increasing its size by 30% to get a total force of 80,000 personnel and putting $270 billion into capability this decade.<\/p>\n

When the coalition came to office in 2013, Dutton said, Labor had cut defence spending to the lowest levels since 1938, at 1.56% of GDP. Labor had \u2018delayed, cut or cancelled over 160 projects\u2019.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor replied that in the six years to 2013, the Labor governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard had spent an annual average of 1.7% to 1.8% of GDP on defence. Much had \u2018dramatically changed,\u2019 he said, since China\u2019s Xi Jinping addressed<\/a> Australia\u2019s parliament in 2014.<\/p>\n

Labor supported the defence acquisitions announced by the Morrison government, O\u2019Connor said, but the government didn\u2019t deliver what it pledged:<\/p>\n

This government has failed to deliver the defence capabilities that this country needs. In almost a decade they have not delivered the assets they promised. [The Australian<\/em>\u2019s] Greg Sheridan recently wrote that if you could guarantee Australia\u2019s security by announcements that have been made, we\u2019d be the most secure nation in the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The spending duel\u2014who has done, or will do, the best job\u2014often becomes an exchange of historical analogies.<\/p>\n

History wars and the US alliance. <\/strong>In campaigns, many ghosts rise up, defining the future by referring to the past.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor began his address by noting the 80th anniversary of the US and Australia joining in the battle of the Coral Sea\u2014\u2018a tactical draw but a strategic victory\u2019 in the fight for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The wartime Labor leader John Curtin had been responsible for the \u2018strategic pivot\u2019 to the US \u2018to defend this nation effectively. Eighty years on, that important security alliance is still in place, and it has been deepened and broadened, and in large part that\u2019s because of the bipartisanship it enjoys.\u2019<\/p>\n

Labor\u2019s recent achievement in office had been to get the US Marines to Darwin, O\u2019Connor said, while Morrison had been treasurer when the Port of Darwin was sold to China on a 99-year lease.<\/p>\n

\u2018We live in times echoing the 1930s,\u2019 Dutton said, \u2018with belligerent autocrats seeking to once again use force to achieve political outcomes. If history has taught us anything, it is that when dictators are on the march, you can only preserve peace by preparing for war. You can only deter aggression from a position of strength.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dutton raised the ghost of Mark Latham, Labor\u2019s leader in the 2004 election, claiming he would have broken the US alliance. The alliance was safe with the Liberal Party, Dutton said, but Labor\u2019s \u2018hard left would break the alliance tomorrow\u2019. O\u2019Connor\u2019s interjected response: \u2018That\u2019s absurd.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nuclear submarines for Australia.<\/strong> The AUKUS agreement offers an entirely new dimension to defence, Dutton said: \u2018The range, the stealth, the survivability of nuclear-powered submarines make them an incredibly powerful deterrent and capability for our country, underpinning the security of our nation for the next 50 years.\u2019<\/p>\n

The defence minister and his Labor counterpart tacitly joined hands to tiptoe around the question of whether the first of the nuclear submarines should be built overseas\u2014in the US or Britain\u2014to get the capability sooner.<\/p>\n

Both promised to build subs in Oz. \u2018Our commitment is to see them built here in South Australia,\u2019 Dutton said. \u2018Ideally, you build defence assets here,\u2019 O\u2019Connor said. Both pointed to the time it\u2019ll take to train Australians to crew nuclear subs.<\/p>\n

The defence minister said Australia was condensing the 18-month timeline to make a choice between US and British nuclear submarine designs.<\/p>\n

Both professionals landed plenty of blows. But no knockouts. The defence consensus between the two parties of government skipped through the bout with hardly a bruise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this afternoon\u2019s defence debate at the National Press Club, much of the Labor\u2013Liberal consensus was as firm as ever: more money for the military, build nuclear submarines, worry about China. Both sides concur on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":72418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44,2212,1114,753,376],"class_list":["post-72408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australian-defence-force","tag-australia-china-relations","tag-defence","tag-election","tag-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPlenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this afternoon\u2019s defence debate at the National Press Club, much of the Labor\u2013Liberal consensus was as firm as ever: more money for the military, build nuclear submarines, worry about China. Both sides concur on ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-05T08:40:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-05T08:39:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/npcdebate2050522.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1289\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"867\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/npcdebate2050522.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/npcdebate2050522.jpg\",\"width\":1289,\"height\":867},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/\",\"name\":\"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-05T08:40:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-05T08:39:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\",\"name\":\"Graeme Dobell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Graeme Dobell\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate | The Strategist","og_description":"In this afternoon\u2019s defence debate at the National Press Club, much of the Labor\u2013Liberal consensus was as firm as ever: more money for the military, build nuclear submarines, worry about China. Both sides concur on ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2022-05-05T08:40:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-05T08:39:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1289,"height":867,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/npcdebate2050522.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Graeme Dobell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Graeme Dobell","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/npcdebate2050522.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/npcdebate2050522.jpg","width":1289,"height":867},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/","name":"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2022-05-05T08:40:43+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-05T08:39:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/plenty-of-blows-but-no-knockouts-in-pre-election-defence-debate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Plenty of blows but no knockouts in pre-election defence debate"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f","name":"Graeme Dobell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Graeme Dobell"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72408"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72417,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72408\/revisions\/72417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}