E&OE

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, we've learned today that the US is conducting a review into AUKUS. Of course, this is the first we've heard of this review. AUKUS was put in place by a Coalition Government. It has strong bipartisan support, and it is a centrepiece of our defence strategy in this country. We have been consistent in providing bipartisan support to AUKUS and we will continue to. It is hugely important that it's accepted, for us, for peace in our part of the world and for ensuring that we have the strong ADF that is necessary in this country, and we have the strong allies and coalitions of course, in the defence area. As I said, this US review came out of the blue and there are very serious questions that the Government, the Defence Minister, needs to answer about it.

First of all, when did the Government become aware of the review? Richard Marles has said they've been aware of it for some time. We need to know the details of that. We need to know to what extent was the review triggered by Labor's failure to fund defence in this country to the level that the US and other partners think is appropriate.

We’ve been clear and we said at the last election that 3% of GDP is necessary to ensure that we don't end up with what ASPI has described as a paper ADF.

Was the government's position on sanctioning two Israeli ministers a contributor to triggering the timing or the existence of this review in the first place? What are the terms of reference of the review? What will it cover? Does it actually question of the existence of the review in the first place? Is it the operation of it? We need to understand those details.

Is Labor prepared to increase defence funding to support AUKUS if that is one of the outcomes of the review?

When will the Prime Minister meet with the President, with President Trump, to discuss this face to face? We understood there was a meeting that was going to proceed. That is less clear now. It is hugely important that the Prime Minister meet with the President to discuss this.

And finally, what role will we play, Australia will play in this review? Is this one that is being driven by the Americans or will we have a say?

Now I've been clear in the short time I've been in this role that we need an ADF that is able to deliver. That’s focused on readiness, not just rhetoric. That’s agile, that’s able to respond in a world which as the Prime Minister has put it, is more dangerous than any other time since the Second World War. And we know agility matters more than ever. We've seen that in conflicts around the world.

We need an ADF that is able to stand on its own two feet, that has sovereign capability and uses that strength as a basis for strong alliances and a strong coalition across the world.

We need an ADF that has the people necessary to do the job and it's clear, since Labor has been in power, that our ADF is well short on their own goals, on Labor's goals.

We need more than a paper ADF. If AUKUS falls over, we will all pay a hefty price.

The Coalition stands ready to work with Labor to make sure that all AUKUS is a success. It needs to be strong and needs to be effective. Bipartisanship will not be a shield for inaction. We need an effective AUKUS, we need an effective ADF, we need a strong ability and capability in this country to defend ourselves, as I say, at a time and that the Prime Minister has put it, is the most dangerous time since the Second World War.

We will start with defence questions please.

JOURANLIST:

Mr Taylor, just on two of those points that you made. You talked about a boost to defence funding …

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Sorry, just to be clear. 

JOURNALIST:

You said the question is the answer [inaudible] that’s not been confirmed that they will meet on the sidelines on the G7 of next week. If that doesn’t happen, is that a concern?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

So, on the first one, we took to the last election to raise defence spending by 3% of GDP.  I think that's necessary, we think that's necessary and there's no shortage of areas where there needs to be extra resources. I mean, this is a government that has completely failed to deliver on the northern bases. It's a government that has failed to deliver on sovereign missile capability. It’s a government that has failed to deliver on the targets for the number of people we have in the ADF. So, it is clear we have a real challenge here. It's also clear from what experts are telling us like ASPI, that the risk here if we don't increase the spending is that AUKUS will catalyse other parts of the ADF that are necessary like sustainment. So, getting this balance right is hugely important and that's why we took the position we did to the last election and why I will continue to prosecute the case.

On your second question, the meeting between the Prime Minister and the President, I think at a time like this, when AUKUS is being reviewed, it is hugely important that there be face-to-face engagement between the Prime Minister and the President.

It should happen as soon as possible. It should happen as soon as possible, and I think that is very, very important. On many fronts, I mean, it's not just in terms of defence. Defence is a very high priority, but also more broadly on economic issues.

JOURNALIST:

As you mentioned earlier, if AUKUS goes pear shaped does the Coalition [inaudible].

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Our goal is to make sure we do our bit to ensure it doesn't go pear shaped and the government should do its bit to make sure that it doesn’t. Now, one of the big questions here is that one of reasons why the United States is concerned.

JOURNALIST:

Are they concerned?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, they clearly are concerned about it. They’ve said it. Has that helped to trigger the timing of this review? I think those are questions that need to be answered by the Defence Minister.

JOURNALIST:

Should Australia conduct its own review of AUKUS?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I tell you what Australia needs to do. It needs to have an ADF that can serve us as is necessary in the most dangerous times since Second World War and that means an ADF focused on readiness, not just rhetoric, an ADF that is agile, an ADF that can stand on its own two feet and use that strength to form strong alliances with the United States and others, including AUKUS, and an ADF that has the people necessary to defend our nation and those are things that should be constantly under review by the government because they are failing to meet their own goals on these things. I mean, they promised a sovereign missile capability. They've promised more people to the ADF. We haven't seen those outcomes. They've promised the northern bases, and we haven't seen these things. So that, I tell you what, that needs to be reviewed by this government.

JOURNALIST:

Just back on to Lucy’s question. Should there be a review of AUKUS in Australia?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I think AUKUS needs to succeed and the government needs to do whatever… I'm not into bureaucratic processes. I'm into outcomes and I want to see the outcome. And this is the problem with this government. It's all rhetoric and no readiness. Where's the delivery? It's all talk. I mean, they talk about sovereign missile capability. They talk about the northern bases. Where are the outcomes? I'm an outcomes guy and that's what we need to see from this government. We're not seeing it and to the extent that resourcing is part of the issue there, which I think they need to deal with that and they haven’t.

JOURNALIST:

(Inaudible) My question to you, should Australia be investing more into a US industrial base to keep AUKUS alive?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I mean, let's see what comes out from this review, David. But I think what is very important here is that Australia needs to do its bit. We need to have both sovereign capability and a large capability.  We need to make sure this is a success, both pillar one and pillar two. I mean, I think pillar two is hugely important, but where's the serious commitment to that? Where's the serious commitment to that? Where's the serious commitment to drone, counter drones?

JOURNALIST:

You’re asking more money to be invested?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, we think more money needs to go to defence in this country. That is our position and the balance across all the things I've been talking about, there's no shortage of candidates for that resourcing between that and AUKUS needs to be struck in the right way. So we're open to work with the Government on this and we've been clear about that all along and we'll continue to be.

JOURNALIST:

Mr Taylor, you mentioned on the decision yesterday [inaudible] on the sanctions on Israel yesterday, 24 hours ago, were a factor. It can't be both, the government's known about it for some time, the review was influenced by something that happened 24 hours ago. And if that was an indication, wouldn't it be more of a concern that the US was potentially listening to horse-trade sanctions for AUKUS.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, these are all questions for Richard Marles. They're good questions by the way. You're asking excellent questions. You're asking very good questions. I think they're questions you should ask of Richard. I've outlined those questions, and I think it's important that we get answers on all of those things. Now, the truth is many things could have triggered this. I've outlined some of the things that might have triggered this.

As you said, David, there's obviously different views within the United States, the administration, and these things can happen through triggers that happen on the day. So, I mean, I don't know the answers to these questions, but I'll tell you what, we deserve answers to them.  I should say, by the way, that I would be more, I would strongly welcome a briefing on this to the extent that there’s private discussions that have happened that the Minister would be willing to share with the Coalition and we can work on a bipartisan basis.

JOURNALIST:

Just on the talk on increasing the spend on defence by an amount of GDP. What do you want that to go to? Defence broadly?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Oh it’s a range of things and I’ve outlined some of those already and we’re seeing a real change in agility in the way people across the world are working. For instance, it is clear now that drone and counter drone capability is more important than we had understood just a few short years ago. We need to be making the appropriate point of investment in that, including through Pillar 2.

I mean, these are areas where there needs to be serious investment, there needs to be serious innovation, there needs to be serious agility. Now we have extraordinary companies here in Australia who are working in those areas, and I’ve been privileged enough to spend time with a number of those, and I’ve been talking with a number of them since I’ve been in this role. The combination of local and international capability in these areas is something we need to harness, and we need to harness it quickly because as the Prime Minister says these are much more dangerous times than we've seen, certainly in our lifetimes.

JOURNALIST:

If Mr Albanese secures that meeting on the sidelines of the G7 with Donald Trump and there are doubts over whether Trump may even attend that meeting, what is he going walk away from for the Coalition to see it as a win, not just on defence but on trade as well?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I mean, clearly, we want AUKUS to be successful, and we need steps in that direction and a face-to-face meeting between the Prime Minister and the President can be a step in that direction. That's what we like to see. More broadly, of course, I mean, we want strong economic ties between the United States and Australia. They’ve been important to us both in terms of trade, investment and people for a long, long time and we want that to continue. I mean, look, we have a lot in common with the United States. We don't agree with them on everything, but we have a lot in common. So there’s a lot to work together both economically and in terms of national security and international security.

JOURNALIST:

On the issue of money, if the Virginia class submarines are not sold to Australia, would you call on Washington to return the money for their industrial base that we're sending over, or is that just more money the Australian taxpayer will have to say goodbye to?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, maybe it's because I'm overly optimistic, but I'm optimistic we can keep all this on track, and we will stand ready to work with Labor to do exactly that so I’m not going to get into those scenarios. The job now is to make all this a success. It's been bipartisan. It will remain that way as long as Labor remains committed to AUKUS and we must do everything necessary to make it successful.

JOURNALIST:

Mr Taylor in your statement you say you don’t protect strength by undermining alliances. Australia must remain serious, consistent and committed on AUKUS. Doesn’t the same challenge to the United States' alliances go both ways?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah, of course. Of course. That's why face-to-face engagement, that’s why the Prime Minister meeting with the President to discuss these things and having an open line where we understand each other and are working closely with each other is so important. I mean, personal relationships really matter in these things. So, this is hugely important.

But through AUKUS we are contributing much to the United States too. I mean, this is an important point. By having a submarine presence here in Australia, in Western Australia, that's the plan, this is extremely valuable to the United States and so, yep, it's a two-way street. Absolutely right. But you know what? We've had two-way streets with the United States for a long, long time and they have been very, very successful in that.

JOURNALIST:

Would you be critical of the US if the review leads to them pulling out of AUKUS?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, again, we can come up with all the hypotheticals we like. Our commitment will be, and it's a commitment I make to Richard Marles right here and now, bipartisanship to AUKUS to make it successful. That's what we want to see.

JOURNALIST:

Scott Morrison has warned against overreacting to this review, he said that it's within America's remit to communicate a point. Are you overreacting? Is it within the US's remit?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I think I'm asking a whole lot of questions that need to be answered. Of course we want this AUKUS to succeed. Scott Morrison, I know wants AUKUS to succeed. I do. And I certainly hope that the Defence Minister does. So, we will do whatever necessary on our part to make it a success. But I think there are some serious questions to be answered here.

JOURNALIST:

The National Defence Strategy is reviewed biannually. It happened last year; it isn't due until 2026. Given the requests from the US, should Richard Marles do a review straight away, more than the ADF and look at how we are spending and whether we should increase it? 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah, I just think this is a government that needs to focus on delivery. It's a government that needs to focus on holding its rhetoric. It needs to focus on readiness, it needs to focus on capability, it needs to focus on people, on sovereignty. And that's what, I mean more reviews, I mean what we've seen from this government is endless reviews in this area. Endless reviews. Readiness counts. Delivery counts. Rhetoric is not the answer when it comes to securing our nation. And so, we need to see more than just reviews, we need to see outcomes.

JOURNALIST:

You raised a few hypotheticals as to whether this is a result of Labor’s defence spending with the Israeli situation yesterday. So just to clarify is it your opinion that the government has created this situation or you're not sure?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, that's the question, isn't it? I mean the question is, is it the government's inability or unwillingness to spend more on defence contributed to this review? Are the decisions that were made in the last 24 hours or so a contributor to this? I mean these are questions that need to be answered by the government. Not by me, but they’re questions I'm posing.

JOURNALIST:

Mr Taylor, there's a bit of a disparity between the 3 % that you took to the election and the experts are saying 3.5 %. Who’s right on that one?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I tell you what, 3% is a hell of a lot closer to 3.5 than 2% is and so our commitment to defend our country, to have the sovereignty, the agility, the delivery, the people that are necessary, alongside our allies, our commitment as a Coalition is strong. We showed that at the last election, we'll continue to show that in the coming months and years. Certainly, whilst I’m in this role that is a strong commitment, and I think what we're proposing, and we proposed at the last election is a big step forward on where Labor is right now.

JOURNALIST:

Just in response to that, would you if you were in the role right now of Defence Minister, what would you be doing that the current Government isn't doing? Should Minister Marles, Minister Wong, the Prime Minister all be in Washington right now making the case again.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I think it is incredibly important to have these face to face meetings and this is why I've called on the Prime Minister to do whatever is necessary to meet with President Trump to discuss this issue as well as others, of course, as quickly as possible. I think it matters. These personal relationships, the personal engagement is really important.  I’ve had enough senior roles across the course of my career to understand how important this is.

This government needs to get on with it. I think I've given you a very strong sense, I mean we've got three years or whatever it's going to be between now and the next election to lay out our detailed defence policies and I'm not going to do that today but what I will say, what I will say Charles, is that I've given you a very strong sense of some of the areas where I will be holding the government to account and will be focusing on and I think this has been a government that’s been a lot on rhetoric and short on readiness.

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Are we done with defence questions? One more.

JOURNALIST:

(Inaudible)

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I think we've got to do our bit to make sure AUKUS is a success. We need the Americans to do their bit to make sure it's a success too. That's how these partnerships work. And so, you know, let’s see what’s in this review. I know as much as you do about this review. I learned about it in the last few hours. Let's see what comes out of it.

JOURNALIST:

Mr Taylor, just on the Liberal Party, we have not been able to get a hold of you since you narrowly lost to Sussan Ley. Do you still have a leadership ballot back home in the knapsack?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

You know what I've got in my knapsack is to be the Defence Minister of this country and most importantly in the short and medium term to hold this government to account on its defence policies and its defence delivery. I've observed it in my previous roles. I see failure in terms of delivery, failure in terms of readiness, a failure to our ADF and a failure to the Australian people. We need to make sure that we're able to deliver. Now I will work as is the tradition on a bipartisan basis with Richard Marles to do all we can on that delivery and that’s my focus.

JOURNALIST:

Just to follow on … [inaudible]

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, you know, I’m delighted to be here today. It's a really exciting role. It is important and it matters. We see it today. It’s important to our alliances, it’s important to peace and security in our part of the world and it's important to every Australian so that's what I'm excited about and wonderful to be back here with you all here in Canberra to talk about this. Couple more.

JOURNALIST:

On a Liberal Party matter, do you support the ongoing federal intervention?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I strongly support it, I’ve said many, many times. It’s a reform that makes sure the NSW Liberal Party is what it needs to be, that’s got a membership base that’s empowered, that is excited about the Liberal Party growing not shrinking and that reform process is enormously important and I remain absolutely committed to that as I have for many, many years and it’s hard to see how we’re going to get a reform process to happen without a continuation of administration so I think that’s very important.

JOURNALIST:

Sussan Ley’s announced an election review; you’ve had a bit of time to reflect. How much do you blame yourself for the election result? The economic platform has been criticised of the Liberal Party. Do you blame yourself for the result?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, look there’s a review coming and I’m not going to pre-empt the outcomes of that review but I think that was a huge job for us to do, to hold this government, this bad government to account, not only on defence but on the economy and other areas and I tell you what I’m going to be playing my role in doing that. I’ll be contributing to the review, and I’ll be interested in the outcomes of that of course. But most importantly we do need to do better, there’s no question about that, all of us. Everyone who was involved in leadership roles, everyone involved in the party, we’ve got to all take a good hard look at how we can do better and that’s what I’ll be doing.

JOURNALIST:

Just since that leadership vote for the Liberals, it looks like the Liberals have lost Bradfield. It was a very tight votes last time around, with these numbers changing slightly does it make it more tempting to go for leadership sometime in this term of government?

ANGUS TAYLOR:

No, my focus is as I said on doing this job. It’s important, it matters. Australians need a government that is held to account. They need to understand that this country is being defended as is necessary in deeply uncertain times so that’ll be my focus and it’s great to be back focusing on the issues that matter to Australians, and I’ll continue to do that.

Thank you very much.

ENDS.