Sussan Ley to call for urgent action on defence in Menzies Institute speech
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will pledge a future Coalition government to spending more on Australia's defence. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
In short:
Sussan Ley will pledge 3 per cent of GDP for defence and prioritise a missile defence shield, drone production and sovereign satellite capability.
Ms Ley will warn fuel and energy security are critical to national resilience and call for more gas, stronger fuel reserves and lifting nuclear prohibitions.
What's next:
She will deliver a speech highlighting national security and defence issues at the Menzies Institute in Melbourne on Thursday.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says Australia is unprepared for a rapidly deteriorating strategic environment and will use a keynote address at the Menzies Institute in Melbourne to warn the nation lacks the military strength, industrial capacity and energy resilience needed to withstand a major regional conflict.
In a move to boost her national security credentials, Ms Ley will on Thursday argue that the world is being reshaped by "war, technology, trade turmoil, and profound social change" and that Australia must respond with a whole of nation approach to defence preparedness.
"Under Labor, in every field, military, diplomatic, economic, Australia is experiencing a distinct and alarming deficit of power and influence," she will say.
"We cannot shape our region and the wider world in our interests, if we do not strengthen our defence force, hone our intelligence capabilities and have the tough conversations."
The speech comes after a turbulent period for the Coalition and sees Ms Ley lay out her priorities with national security at the forefront.
In doing so, she will point to capability areas she says have stalled under Labor, including work on a national missile defence shield, the rapid manufacture of drones and other autonomous systems, and a strengthened sovereign satellite program.
She will frame these as essential to addressing what she describes as a "deterrence deficit" and will recommit the Coalition to lifting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, positioning it as a more detailed follow-through on the pledge adopted by Peter Dutton at the eleventh hour of the 2025 federal election campaign.
Among the opposition leader's pledges is for Australia to build an integrated air and missile defence system. (Supplied: Kongsberg)
She will argue that Australia must use all available diplomatic tools, including economic leverage, to shape regional choices and prevent conflict, while adding that diplomacy is only effective if the country can also "credibly deter others from using force" through stronger military capability and clearer national resolve.
The opposition leader will also accuse the Albanese government of failing to place guided missile production orders and warn that slow procurement timelines are weakening deterrence.
She will outline three urgent priorities for rebuilding the defence industrial base.
"First, to uphold our continental security and protect rotational forces based in our country, Australia must have an integrated air and missile defence system," she will say, according to an advance copy of her speech.
"The second thing we need is a greater ability to rapidly build, deploy and resupply unmanned and autonomous weapons systems, whether they be aerial drones or undersea weapons systems or the systems to defend against them.
"Third, Australia urgently needs a greater sovereign capability for satellite connectivity."
She will also cite "sobering" Lowy Institute polling showing nearly a quarter of Australians say they would not defend the country, describing it as evidence of a deeper cultural drift.
Ms Ley will signal that a priority of hers will be to "change cultural attitudes and uplift national pride so that more Australians believe our nation is worth defending".
Energy security
Just days after the Coalition abandoned its commitment to net zero emissions following months of political turbulence on the issue, Ms Ley will also focus on energy security, pledging to improve national resilience by boosting fuel supplies.
"Fuel and energy security are now among the most important things determining our national preparedness to endure a conflict or crisis. And the situation is dire," she will say.
"This is why we need to embrace energy abundance and put affordability first. That's what our plan we released on Monday is all about."
Sussan Ley will also address the need for more strategic reserves of energy in her speech. (ABC News)
Amid data showing Australia's liquid fuel supplies would last just a few weeks if the nation was cut off in a conflict, she will argue that Australia's reserves remain dangerously low.
"If our fuel supply is cut Australia will only have a matter of days to a couple of weeks before domestic freight and aviation ceases entirely," she will say, warning that without access to groceries, medicine and essential services the public would struggle to endure a crisis.
Ms Ley will criticise the government for losing momentum on minimum fuel stockholding obligations and call for stronger investment signals to increase domestic production, including biofuels and efuels.
She will say Australia is reducing its energy sovereignty despite abundant gas reserves and will argue that strengthened access to gas is essential for major defence programs including AUKUS submarines. She will also note that Australia still lacks a national AI strategy.
Ms Ley will add that she welcomes the increased public candour of national security agency heads and will encourage them to "keep speaking up and out" about threats facing the country.