DEFENCE:

A senior naval officer says Australia should have no problem lifting its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP to cater for any withdrawal in US support under the Trump administration.

Speaking at a news conference in Canberra, the head of the Royal Australian Navy’s equipment procurement program, Admiral Quinton McHale, (main picture) said the AUKUS submarine deal alone could deliver that target.

“Some egghead at the Defence Department told me that national defence spending is about $56 billion right now,” Admiral McHale said.

“That’s apparently 2% of GDP, which I think stands for gratuitous defence procurement, so lifting it to 2.5% means an increase of… err.. well, you can do the sums,” he said to reporters.

Admiral McHale said through the AUKUS agreement the RAN alone could help reach the higher spending target.

“I mean at the moment the whole AUKUS shebang, subs and all, is estimated to cost us somewhere between $268 billion and $368 billion up to the mid-2050s,” Admiral McHale said.

“With such a rubbery… I mean within such flexible cost parameters the RAN alone has plenty of scope to lift our national defence budget. We might even get something in return. Perhaps.

“But the Army and the RAAF can also contribute to reaching the goal,” he added.

“Let’s face it, they fuck up… I mean, they also face changes in scope and contract realignments in almost all of the major procurement deals they enter into.”

Admiral McHale said Australians should not let the defence funding debate alarm them about the nation’s security.

“Leaving aside our submarines… Please! … I can assure my fellow Australians that the Royal Australian Navy has hundreds of surface combat ships that stand ready to defend our great island nation….”

At that point an aide to Admiral McHale whispered in his ear before he continued: “Ooops. Sorry. I should have said the dozens of combat ships we have in the RAN ready to defend…”

After being interrupted again by his aide, he said: “Righto. I’m sure that the 11 fighting ships we have will do a pretty good job. At least for a day or maybe two.

“But anyway we do have the new Hunter Class frigates in the pipeline and their cost has gone from $30 billion to $45 billion and now $65 billion, and we’ve cut the order from nine to just six. So we’re well on the way to 2.5%.”

When asked to define a frigate, Admiral McHale paused for some moments, looked at his aide who stared back at him blankly before uttering “Ahh frig it” and walking out of the news conference.

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