The Australian government’s $110 million (US$73 million) military support for Ukraine is not effective enough in addressing Ukraine’s needs, the federal opposition says. Defence Minister Richard Marles unveiled the new assistance package on June 26, which includes 70 military vehicles, a supply of 105mm artillery ammunition, and $10 million to the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund. Australia…

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles met his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore after Li refused to meet U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Marles confirmed the meeting on Twitter, calling the meeting another “important step” towards stablising the relationship between the two countries. In a speech to…

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has urged the Labor government to add more gas to Australia’s power grid to reduce energy bills for households and businesses. This comes after The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released the new default market offer, which caps the maximum rate energy retailers can charge residential and small business customers in New…

Economic coercion from China could cut off Australia’s fuel supplies, crippling the vast country’s food and transport sectors, according to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. Marles, who is also Australia’s defence minister, said that Australia’s exposure to economic coercion is even greater than the risk of invasion, and the potential of such coercion going forward is…

The Australian government will buy defence radar system manufacturer CEA Technologies, in a move Defence Minister Richard Marles says will safeguard the supply chain for radar technologies. CEA has operated for 40 years, has over 600 staff, and develops cutting-edge radar systems for major naval vessels. From July 2023, the Commonwealth will hold a non-controlling…

The Labor government has pledged $3.8 billion (US$2.5 billion) for upgrades to military bases across Australia’s north as part of a steady build-up to deal with potential conflict in the region. The announcement follows an earlier pledge in 2021 to upgrade four military training facilities in the Northern Territory. According to Defence Minister Richard Marles,…

Australia did not make any commitment to the United States in the event of a Taiwan conflict in exchange for access to its Virginia-class nuclear submarines, Defence Minister Richard Marles said. “Absolutely not. And I couldn’t be more unequivocal than that,” Marles told ABC Insiders. Leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States…

Australian Defence Minister has defended the federal government’s $368 billion (US$244 billion) deal to purchase up to five nuclear powered submarines, saying Australia’s diesel-electric submarines pale compared to U.S. nuclear-propulsion technologies and China’s existing fleet of more than 10 of nuclear submarines. On March 13, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia would convert its…

The Pentagon has approved the sale of 220 Tomahawk cruise missiles to Australia under the tri-nation AUKUS security pact. The $1.3 billion (US$895 million) deal follows the confirmation that Australia will be acquiring up to five nuclear-powered attack submarines over the next decade under the security alliance that will cost Australia up to $368 billion…

Surveillance equipment made by companies linked to China’s communist regime has been found at Australia’s national broadcaster and is being dismantled, an internal audit has confirmed. Cameras made by Hikvision and Dahua were found to have been installed at Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)’s headquarters in Ultimo, Sydney and two other locations. An ABC spokesman said…