Election 2025 live: Hastie says US’s America-first posture means Australia can no longer ‘take anything for granted’ in defence​on April 23, 2025 at 2:43 am

Today in the latest of the National Press Club’s election debates, the health minister Mark Butler is going head to head with shadow minister for health, Anne Ruston.

Going first, in her opening statement, Ruston continues the line Dutton ran in the leader’s debate last night accusing Albanese of mounting a scare campaign over Medicare funding. Ruston says:

Australians rightly are proud of Medicare, which is why it has been so disappointing to see the Prime Minister, the leader of this country, behaving like a political vulture, preying on hard working, elderly, sick and vulnerable Australians, using this as a campaign to fuel his Mediscare campaign. Prime Minister, Medicare is not a plaything of yours. It belongs to the Australian people.

Butler, going second, says “Australians aren’t mugs” and won’t believe Dutton’s promises there won’t be cuts on health.

When Peter Dutton was health minister, he looked Australians in the eye and promised that there would be no cuts to health. And then in his first budget, he cut $50 billion from public hospitals. He tried to end bulk billing altogether for GP visits, for pathology services, for imaging services, because, as he said at the time, he thought there were too many free Medicare services, echoing the views of his mentor, John Howard, who described bulk billing, in his words, as a complete rort, and when he couldn’t get all of that through the parliament, Peter Dutton started the coalition’s six year long freeze on Medicare rebate.

Our reporter Sarah Basford Canales, who is with the opposition leader, gets the last question and asks why he hasn’t visited a community slated to host one of the Coalition’s seven proposed nuclear plants.

Dutton has been critical of Labor, saying they haven’t done adequate consultation with communities in the NSW Illawarra region where offshore wind farms have been earmarked.

Dutton lays down those criticisms again, and despite pushback, says he’s been to Bunbury and the Hunter.

We’ve spoken with the community, we’ve made our decision, and we’re happy to consult with people in government.

Telling journos that the costings will come later isn’t flying with the press pack today.

Several reporters have asked Dutton exactly where the money is coming from to pay for the defence commitment and other promises.

Dutton says again that the Coalition hasn’t promised recurring spending like Labor’s top-up tax cuts – so as one journo puts it to him:

What you are saying is that you are paying for this policy by repealing income tax cuts, you are paying it through bracket creep and slugging ordinary taxpayers rather than spending restraint and finding cuts elsewhere.

Dutton answers, but again won’t say where any savings will come from:

A great Coalition government will always be better on national security and economic management.

After several more questions, Dutton says:

We will find savings as we have been clear, as John Howard did in ’96, where Labor has invested into programs, where that money is not being spent efficiently. We have given guarantees in relation to health and education and other areas of commonwealth expenditure.

Dutton says he is still opposed to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine

Would the Coalition stand with allied forces as part of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine?

Anthony Albanese has spoken to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and other leaders about the prospect of sending a “small” team of peacekeepers to Ukraine.

Dutton has previously said the Coalition would not support that.

Dutton says he’s still opposed to the idea, and says the previous Coalition government provided more help “than any other country”.

I’m opposed to us sending in, in an ill-defined way, to an ill-defined mission, our troops on the border with a nuclear powered country like Russia, with a lunatic in charge of Russia, not knowing what would happen next.

We provided more than any other country when we were in government.

Andrew Hastie says he does not ‘resile’ from previous comments about ADF and gender

Hastie is challenged again on his views on whether women should serve in the defence force.

The shadow defence minister, who has previously served in the ADF, said back in 2018 that the “fighting DNA of a close combat unit is best preserved when it’s exclusively male”.

This morning he said that he did support women in combat roles, and just said it again:

The Coalition policy is that all combat roles are open to women. It’s been our longstanding position.

The one thing that we’ll, one thing that we will insist on is high standards because, in combat, there’s no points for second place.

Pushed on whether those “high standards” mean that there are currently lower standards for women, Hastie says “hardly”, and has accused the government of using the issue as a “political prop”.

I’m saying we have one standard, all Australians, regardless of your background, your race, your sexuality, your gender, your religion, every single role in the ADF is open to you, and we want more Australians to join … He [Marles] uses women in the ADF as a political prop.

Hastie says he won’t “resile” from his past comments but confirms “nothing is changing”.

I am not going to resile from what I have said in the past … I said what I said but the thing that the Australian people need to know, under a Dutton-led Coalition government, we will have a policy that is open to all Australians for combat roles. Nothing is changing.

Dutton says Coalition’s defence spending not just due to China

Dutton says the Coalition’s increase in spend isn’t solely to do with China.

He says China, under its Communist party, has “ambitions” in relations to Taiwan but that’s not the only reason for this announcement:

China, under the CCP, is a very different country and has ambitions in relation to Taiwan and a naval blockade in the region is not out of the thinking of the defence experts. Let’s be frank about it but it’s not just that.

It’s the fact that when you look at what’s happening in Europe, the prospect of Russia emboldened going into countries beyond the Ukraine and Europe like that has Nato countries deeply concerned at the moment.

Dutton fails to specify where defence funding will come from

Moving to questions, the first goes to Mark Riley who points to Hastie’s comments on RN Breakfast this morning that theres always a “trade-off” when making an announcement. He asks where that trade-off is going to be.

Dutton doesn’t answer exactly where the funding will come from.

His goes first to how the former Coalition government provided temporary support during Covid for jobseeker and jobkeeper, and says that unlike Labor’s permanent tax cuts the Coalition isn’t “baking in” spending.

We have no commitments in relation to that recurrent spend. And the reason in part that we’ve left to a later point in the campaign the announcement is to get a better understanding of where the finances are and how much money we can put into defence.

The Coalition has said they will release their costings before 3 May.

Hastie adds that the US’s “America first” model means Australia has to step up its spending.

The US has been calling for Australia to increase its spending on defence to 3% of GDP.

Hastie says Australia can’t take security from the US for “granted”:

America is moving to a ‘America first’ posture. We still have a strong relationship with the United States but we can’t take anything for granted. The world has changed.

Andrew Hastie accuses Labor of ‘weakening’ Australia

Andrew Hastie – who has raised eyebrows for not being featured more prominently in the Coalition campaign – takes the mic to give everyone on stage with him a shout out, including Dutton’s children.

Hastie says Australia has seen the rise of authoritarian powers, war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, and attacks the Labor government for “weakening” the country.

They’ve cut our infantry fighting vehicle program. They’ve cut two supply ships, the fourth squadron of F-35s. They’re cutting and weakening this country and that’s why this announcement is so important.

As he said earlier this morning, Hastie reiterates the workforce crisis the ADF is facing. He blames Labor for that.

Last year, almost 90% of all defence applications were withdrawn. Young Australians can’t get into defence because of the bungle this government is seeing in recruiting. We have a retention crisis. We’re not keeping good people in uniform, people who have had a good experience and we have a readiness crisis.

Dutton sells Coalition’s defence spending plan

Peter Dutton is stepping up to address the media from Perth this morning, spruiking the Coalition’s announcement to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP over the next five years.

He’s at a defence facility, and standing with his shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie.

Dutton says Australia has a role to play on the global stage, in making his defence announcement.

What we announce today is a record investment into defence which will be of particular benefit here in Western Australia, South Australia and other defence hubs around the country. Australia has an important role to play on the global stage and our own region but, most importantly, a good Australian government will always invest into keeping us safe.

If we’re to preserve peace and stability in our region, and to be a good ally with partners, Australia needs to invest in defence.

Labor’s lead on a two-party-preferred basis continues to grow, according to Guardian Australia’s poll tracker. Labor currently sits at 51%, about one point below its mark at the last election. There is still a bit of uncertainty in the polling, which you can see in the chart below.

Labor’s primary vote is now 29% and has been increasing for the past several weeks. The Coalition is at 34% according to our model. Both major parties are still down on their results at the last election. Much of the change in primary vote had been going to Others and Independents.

But the primary share for Others and Independents fell this week after trending upwards for a few months. This may be because the declaration of candidates has taken place, and pollsters are now asking tailored questions for each electorate.

You can find more granular breakdowns of the polling on our tracking page.

Palmer releases new HTV card after alleged ‘hack’

We’ve got an update on the how-to-vote drama for Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots. First, a quick refresher:

Palmer’s new political outfit this week sparked confusion and anger in rightwing circles after encouraging supporters to number left-leaning, Climate 200-backed candidates second or third in several seats as part of a wider strategy to punish the major parties.

The party’s candidate in the Victorian seat of Flinders, Jason Smart, took the extraordinary step of telling voters to put him last on the ballot in protest against what he described as a “shocking and sinister”.

As the backlash raged, Palmer claimed – without evidence – that Trumpet of Patriots’ how-to-vote cards had been “interfered with” and he launched a full investigation. The party subsequently removed how-to-vote cards for 18 seats from its website while it updated its advice for supporters.

The new cards have now been uploaded, showing teal-esque candidates further down the recommended ballot paper in several seats. For example, in Flinders, the Climate 200-backed candidate, Ben Smith, has been dropped to fifth, which places him below Labor but above the Greens and Coalition.

In Monash, Trumpet of Patriots is now encouraging supporters to number Liberal turned independent Russell Broadbent second on the ballot rather than Climate 200-backed Deb Leonard, who has been dropped to eighth spot.

Curiously, there hasn’t been much of a change in Wannon, where former Triple J presenter Alex Dyson – who is also backed by Climate 200 – remains third on Trumpet of Patriots’ updated card.

Dutton touring defence facility ahead of press conference

Peter Dutton has arrived at the warehouse, flanked by two of his children and some of his frontbench.

The opposition leader is looking at some of the company’s satellite technology before a press conference.

Dutton’s children, Bec and Tom, are here so clearly earlier press conferences with his other son, Harry, haven’t deterred from placing his family front and centre.

Michaelia Cash, his shadow attorney general, and Andrew Hastie, the shadow defence minister, have joined the visit this morning.

Dutton visits Perth defence facility

Peter Dutton is in the inner-city Perth seat of Swan this morning, where he’s visiting a defence facility to spruik today’s opposition funding announcement.

Swan is held by Labor MP Zaneta Mascarenhas on a 12% two-party margin but is being challenged by the Liberal candidate, Mic Fels.

The Blacktree Technology warehouse in Perth’s Belmont holds a lot of satellite technology but there are only a few employees hanging around awaiting the opposition leader’s arrival.

Labor and Coalition shy away from thought of falling house prices

Housing affordability is at the centre of debate in this election, but both major parties haven’t said that they want house prices to actually drop, to help get young people in to the market.

The main phrasing we’ve heard is that the pollies want to see “sustainable growth”, but they won’t put a number on that, or say how soon that growth might become sustainable.

Our economics editor, Patrick Commins, has looked into this for us, and the answer is … not great.

Coalition nuclear scheme would cost Australia up to $5.2tn by 2050 – thinktank

The Coalition’s nuclear plan would cost the economy at least $4.3tn by 2050, according to analysis by thinktank Clean Energy Finance.

The independent group says it looked at the economic implications of the nuclear pathway modelled by Frontier Economics (which was commissioned by the Coalition).

It says the pathway would hollow out Australian industry and lead to higher total energy costs, more carbon pollution and a loss in GDP.

The group says these flow-on costs to the economy would accumulate to $4.3tn to $5.2tn. The biggest cost, they say, would be $3.5tn in cumulative undiscounted lost GDP to 2050.

The modelling by Frontier Economics found the nuclear plan would cost $331bn.

CEF director and report author Tim Buckley says the nuclear plan will lead to a “weaker” economy.

The largest share of the Frontier-modelled ‘savings’ in energy transition investment comes at the cost of delivering much weaker outcomes for Australia, including an assumption the Australian economy’s GDP is $300bn lower annually by 2051.

This represents an astonishing $3.5tn in cumulative GDP forgone.

More than half a million voters have already handed in their ballots, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

It beats pre-poll numbers back in 2022, when 310,000 people had put in their ballots on the first day of early voting.

The AEC also says they’re sending millions of postal vote ballots, with 2.39 million people applying for a postal vote with 2.2m packs distributed so far. They’re encouraging any Australians who still need a postal vote pack to apply this week.