2026-07-01
The Albanese Labor Government hiding a $29 billion defence blowout behind cosmetic changes to defence procurement is the ultimate exercise in spin over reality.
Read closely, Labor’s recent announcement shows nothing is changing in Defence, the new procurement agency will be staffed by the same people and report to the same two Defence Ministers.
The surest sign that this is more of the same is the fact that not a single senior decision maker is being held to account for almost thirty billion dollars in cost overruns.
Without strategic change and leadership being held to account for poor decisions, the Defence Delivery Agency is doomed before it even begins.
Senator David Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson for Defence, said: “Defence is still hooked on purchasing exquisitely expensive US hardware that is designed to form part of a broader US military deployment and not to defend Australia. Every time they do this we get the same huge cost overruns and the same marginal utility to Australian defence.
“Once again Defence leadership is being let off the hook for multi-billion dollar failures. If this was any other organisation the leadership could not survive $29 billion in cost overruns, but senior defence officials play by different rules.
“Until those two things are addressed, an addiction to hugely expensive US hardware and an aversion to accountability, nothing will change.
“Watching another Defence minister deliver an NPC speech cosplaying as a tough guy is now a routine feature of the Canberra calendar and it doesn’t move the dial, because Defence just rolls on over them.
“Ministers Pat Conroy and Richard Marles have been in charge of Defence for over four years, if they want to find where the blame should fall they need to look in the mirror.
“Every time the Greens point out the obvious mismanagement and failure of Defence leadership, Labor, the Liberals and One Nation act as if we have committed some kind of sacrilege. The real scandal is how they all keep signing off on this and bending the knee to anyone who steps into the room with enough gold braid.
“From Hunter Frigates to AUKUS and LOTE this isn’t about red tape, it’s about poor strategic decisions, terrible internal controls and a political free hand.
“The problem in Defence is not only how they procure but what they are procuring. They are making the Australian military an interoperable cog in the US military, which is the most expensive military in human history. Cost blowouts are embedded in that project.
“Keep in mind this is the same government that during the South Australian election flew to Adelaide to announce $30 billion in spending on AUKUS with no budget line, no information on timelines, just a made up figure and photo-op.
“If it wasn’t so serious and so expensive it would read like a comedy.”