Record peacetime spend set for Australia’s military
Australia will spend the most on defense outside of wartime, as the military’s strategy for the coming years is announced.
Defense Minister Richard Marles will unveil the 2026 national defense strategy on Thursday, which will set out the path forward for Australia’s armed forces and the projects it will pursue over the next two years.
In his speech to the National Press Club, Mr Marles will announce that an extra $14 billion will be spent on defense over the next four years, compared to projections for 2024 in the previous strategy.
An additional $53 billion will be allocated to defense in the next decade.
The figures mean Australia’s total defense spending will rise to three per cent of GDP by 2033.
The federal government had previously said it would aim to reach 2.3 percent by the end of 2033.
Australia is facing calls to raise US defense spending to 3.5 per cent as the Trump administration pushes allied countries to do more with their militaries.
Mr. Marles will say that increasing funding for the military is necessary given the change in the global environment.
“Australia faces the most complex and threatening strategic conditions since the end of the Second World War. International norms that once restricted the use of force and military pressure continue to erode,” he will say.
“In the face of this, the Albanian government is pursuing every means to rapidly increase its defense capacity, mostly through larger defense appropriations but also through access to private capital.
“As a result, we are now seeing the largest peacetime increase in defense spending in our nation’s history.”
The defense minister will also identify priority areas for the Australian Defense Force in his speech.
Billions of dollars of extra money have already been allocated to drones, given their successful use in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“Implementing this strategy is not just about investing more, it is about spending better,” Mr. Marles will say.
“This puts Australia on the path to strengthening our defense self-reliance. It strengthens the industrial and national foundations of defense and positions Australia firmly within a network of trusted regional and global partnerships.”
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