//Preface//

 

The United States has once again publicly demanded more money from Australia,

calling for an increased budget!
The Australian Prime Minister has finally responded publicly...

 

U.S. Pressures Australia to Spend More

Australian Prime Minister Responds Publicly

 

Recently, as global security situations grow increasingly complex, Australia's defense policy has become a focus of international attention.

 

Last weekend, at the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held bilateral talks with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles.

 

Following the meeting, the U.S. released a statement explicitly calling on Australia to “urgently raise its defense spending to 3.5% of GDP.”

 

 

Image Source：9news.com.au

 

In addition, the two sides also discussed strengthening defense industry cooperation, improving supply chain resilience, and accelerating U.S. military deployments in Australia. 

 

Notably, while the U.S. has previously called on Australia to increase its defense budget multiple times, this marks the first time a specific percentage has been explicitly requested.

 

Currently, the Australian federal government plans to raise defense spending from 2.02% to 2.33% of GDP by the 2033–2034 fiscal year.

 

In response to the latest U.S. request, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese firmly rejected the proposal.

 

 

Image Source：news.com.au

 

While inspecting drought conditions in the Fischer region of South Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters that Australia will make its own decisions regarding national defense policy.

 

Albanese emphasized that the government has already committed an additional AUD 10 billion to defense development and plans to raise defense spending to 2.3% of GDP over the next decade.

 

He criticized the opposition’s proposed AUD 21 billion defense spending increase as “meaningless,” pointing out that it lacked both a funding source and clear allocation plans.

 

“What we need is something that can actually defend us—and that’s exactly what we are delivering”

 

 

Image Source：news.com.au

 

Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie raised concerns from a different perspective.

 

As a strong supporter of the Australian Defence Force,she argued that before pouring more money into the military, Australia should first focus on cutting internal “waste.”

 

She cited the AUKUS submarine project as an example, noting that it has already cost AUD 4 billion, yet “not a single piece of steel has been seen so far.”

 

Lambie sarcastically remarked:“Might as well ask Trump to give us a refund for the submarines.”

 

 

In the end

Australia’s Prime Minister has finally taken a firm stance, rejecting the U.S. request for more defense spending.

However, this budget tug-of-war is far from over,
and the final outcome remains to be seen with time.

 

Ref: https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/australian-defence-force-needs-waste-cuts-not-more-cash-jacqui-lambie/news-story/00ce33893000fd3c10de3659c09eb90e