• Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said that little will change for Defence under Labor.
Ewen Levick
    Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said that little will change for Defence under Labor. Ewen Levick
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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten gave a speech at the Lowy Institute this week outlining Labor’s foreign policy platform and position on the Defence budget and major projects.

The speech, attended by Shadow Defence Minister Richard Marles and Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong, indicated that Labor would not implement significant changes to the Defence budget or to major projects should the party win the next federal election.

Minister Shorten opened by laying out how a Labor government would approach Australia’s relationship with the US and China.

“Australia’s policy needs to respond from forethought, rather than reaction,” Minister Shorten said.

Whilst Minister Shorten emphasised that Labor is ‘committed’ to the US alliance, he acknowledged the possibility of future disagreements.

“Australia’s interests will obviously be different from those of the US in some areas. We tell truth to power – we recognise that we will not always see eye to eye on international issues. We can and will express any differences within the enduring framework of our close relationship.”

Minister Shorten also acknowledged that China’s party system is “very different to our liberal democracy,” but said that “the next Labor government will not deal with China purely through the prism of worst-case assumptions about its long-term ambitions.”

Other foreign policy priorities for a Labor government include improving Australia’s relationships with Indonesia and India, appointing a global human rights ambassador, improving the aid budget as an investment in regional and national security, and investing in what Minister Shorten called the “blue continent” of the South Pacific.

“We are not going to forfeit the Pacific because we didn’t turn up,” Minister Shorten said.

“We will encourage the private sector to drive development in the region. My vision is to actively facilitate concessional loans and financing for investment that is for vital national building projects through a government-backed infrastructure investment bank.”

Whilst Minister Shorten mentioned NZ as a model for this policy, the Kiwis were generally absent from the speech, clocking up only two other mentions over the space of forty minutes. It was a notable omission given Wellington’s long-standing and deep engagement with the same South Pacific states Minister Shorten intends to prioritise.

Whilst the speech focused on foreign policy, it indicated that Defence and industry can expect continuity from a future Labor government.

“I do reiterate our firm commitment to a strong, self-reliant Defence force,” Minister Shorten said. “We’re committed to maintaining Defence spending at two per cent of GDP.”

“We will also develop a capable national Defence industry because, as Richard Marles has said, this industry uniquely has the ability to project Australian power, to have Australia be taken seriously in a way that compliments the work of the ADF.”

“A home-grown Defence industry is part of Labor’s DNA.”

Minister Shorten took a number of questions afterwards, and was pressed on Labor’s commitment to large Defence projects and the two per cent benchmark.

“We do regard the commitment of two per cent of GDP as a fundamental proposition,” Minister Shorten replied.

“We do want to ensure that [taxpayers] are getting value for money… [but] you’re not going to get a radically different Defence policy.”

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