Part 5/9:
Joel Fitzgibbon, a former Labour Defence Minister, projected that Australia’s defence expenditure would need to double within ten years to adequately counter threats. The conversation also touched on the changing nature of warfare, with cyber espionage and hybrid threats increasingly prominent, especially from China.
China’s Threat and the US Alliance
A consensus from the televised debate was that China poses a significant strategic threat in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia must prioritize enhancing its military capabilities, including missile and drone manufacturing, and strengthening its sovereign defence industry.