6 days ago
‘Not good enough': Defence Minister Richard Marles starved of formal updates on military readiness for more than two years
Defence Minister Richard Marles was not kept informed of the Australian Defence Force's readiness for more than two years, the latest defence report has revealed.
The Auditor General's performance audit of the Department of Defence exposed the lack of formal reporting on ADF readiness between 2023 and 2024.
The revelation, uncovered by the AFR, has sparked political pressure on the Albanese government over Australia's military preparedness and low levels of defence spending.
Shadow defence minister Angus Taylor described the situation as unacceptable and called on Mr Marles to clarify whether he had been left in the dark about military readiness.
'Every dollar spent by the Australian Defence Force is taxpayers' money,' Mr Taylor said in a statement provided to Sky News.
'It is critical Defence continues to meet the highest standards in its expenditure and risk practices.
'It is clearly not sufficient for formal reporting on something as critical as Australia's preparedness to be conducted informally and verbally.
'The minister must clarify what he knew, when he knew it, and whether he was satisfied from these informal reports about the status of Australia's maritime preparedness.'
Senior defence strategy analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Alex Bristow told Sky News that defence policy relies on "evidence-based advice to government".
'ASPI's Cost of Defence, published in May, also highlighted issues with the readiness of the Australian Defence Force and the progress of key acquisition and sustainment projects," he said.
'The defence readiness of the nation is a matter of legitimate public concern, especially when the Chinese ambassador is writing in the national press to dissuade the government from increasing defence spending."
The report, which examined the sustainment of the Navy's Canberra-class amphibious assault ships confirmed formal reporting was suspended throughout 2023 and 2024.
'Preparedness reporting had not been provided to the Minister in 2023 and 2024 due to development of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review,' the report said.
'Defence expects the updated preparedness reporting to be in place by mid-2025.'
The report added that advice to Mr Marles on preparedness has been through 'other means' over the two years, including via 'conversations'.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected suggestions the government was unaware of Australia's defence posture, calling them 'ridiculous'.
'That's just absurd. That's just absurd,' Mr Albanese told Nine's Today programme on Tuesday.
'Frankly, I haven't seen that report, but we sit in the National Security Committee with the chief of the Defence Force.
'We meet regularly. I certainly have met with heads of all of the armed forces regularly.'
Mr Albanese said his government had made major investments in defence since coming to office, including committing billions in new funding.
NATO allies have agreed to boost military spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, while the Albanese government has committed to a modest target of 2.3 per cent by 2033.
Asked whether he was worried about a backlash from US President Donald Trump, Mr Albanese said, 'We will invest in the capability that Australia needs'.
