Topics: 80^th Anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, defence spending, US Alliance, recognition of Palestinian statehood, Hamas.

 

E&OE

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

Let's go to the Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor now. Angus, thank you for your time. A big moment, 80 years marking Victory in the Pacific.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Yeah, absolutely Laura.  It's a commemoration today of a momentous event, a truly momentous event, which was the of the War in the Pacific; and of course, it was a time when one in seven Australians made a direct contribution to the war effort. We lost 17,000 lives in the Pacific, and of course, there's only 2,500 of those great veterans who fought for us through that war who are still with us today. They were the greatest generation. They carried our values, and our beliefs on their shoulder as they fought for our great country and we are blessed to have had them willing to sacrifice lives and sacrifice a huge amount, at a time when we needed them to do that, protect our freedoms and protect our values. And we should all be eternally grateful for what they have done for us.

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

Absolutely, we should. They were the Greatest Generation and as we look at our current circumstances, and the circumstances right around the world with China's rise and growing assertiveness in the Pacific and in our region, what do you expect of this generation?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, the point you make is a very good one, Laura, which is what we're commemorating today is the end of an authoritarian regime in the Pacific that wreaked havoc, and we now face the most dangerous times since 1945. The Chinese Communist Party is clearly militarising at a rate that it hasn't until before now, and it is very clear that we are in the most dangerous times since 1945 and so it's incumbent on us to do everything we can to achieve peace through deterrence. That has to be the focus. That means increasing our defence spending. It means making sure our defence force is prepared, is ready, and has the support it needs. We have remarkable men and women in our defence force today, but we don't have the funding and the support that is needed.

 

We don't have the preparedness, we don't have the agility, we don't have the people and we don't have the sovereign manufacturing necessary to support what needs to be a well-prepared defence force at this time. And ASPI has told us this, one of the leading think-tanks in this area, that we risk having a ‘paper’ defence force at a time when we need something far more substantial.

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

Well, the long and the short of it is that we would be screwed without the United States if war did come to our doorstep and that is very clear indeed. Not just now, but I think you need the force of the United States. I want to talk to you about that in the context of our defence spending, the pressure clearly coming from the US to increase it in percentage terms of GDP. Would you, if you were in government, push it up to 3.5 %?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, we've already committed to take it to at least 3% and that's something that I think is an important step forward. We do this because it's the right thing, not because of pressure. It's the right thing to do. And you point out the importance of the US Alliance. It is important, but it's also important for us to get our spending to a level which is appropriate. Alliances work because partners in those alliances do their bit. And right now, we need to do more to strengthen our defence force and look, this is a widely held view and in fact, the Government's own Defence Strategy Review  pointed out that much more needed to be done and expert evaluations of that review tell us that we need to get to 3% of GDP if we're going to pay for what was in that review.

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

You would have seen the comments from Mike Huckabee overnight speaking to the ABC. Do you think the position the Albanese Government has taken on Palestine has put our alliance under strain? Mike Huckabee asserted that the US wasn't given a heads up, but Penny Wong did speak to Marco Rubio.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, I think the starting point here is that I believe very firmly, and we as an Opposition believe very firmly, that this has been the wrong decision. It's been putting the cart before the horse. A peace agreement should come first. We need to be confident that Hamas will be demilitarised and will not play a part in a future government, and we can't be confident of those things, Laura.

And so, this really is putting the cart before the horse, and I think the result is the United States is deeply concerned about it. I don't think that's helping our relationship with the United States, but the decision is wrong on its own merits and that's what concerns us most. 

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

The headlines and the assertion is that the Albanese Government is all the way with P.A. – being the Palestinian Authority. Is there a risk that you as part of the Coalition is all the way with Benjamin Netanyahu or is that the case? 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

We're all the away with getting a peace agreement that can work and can result in a lasting peace in the Middle East. That's what we're all away with, and that's what the objective is here. The problem with what Labor's proposing is it's not a credible pathway as things stand. It's just not credible to say that a Palestinian Authority, at this point, can be an effective government in Palestine without Hamas being part of it and without Hamas continuing to have military capability and that's just not a sustainable situation for the Middle East. So, this is a very practical problem, and it needs a solution, absolutely, we all want to see peace in the Middle East. What's been going on there is an absolute tragedy. There is no question about it, but this is not a credible pathway as it stands. And you know, the truth is, that the praise that the Government has received from Hamas is just further evidence that this is not the right answer at this point. It truly is putting the cart before the horse.

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

What praise from Hamas are you talking about?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, you know, we have seen Hamas make statements very clearly that they are supportive of what the Government has done here, Laura. Now, there’s lots of debate about who it’s come from, but I don’t think…[inaudible]

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

But even, do you acknowledge that even Hamas has said…

 

Yeah, yeah exactly. I mean Anthony Albanese, you know what we're talking about here. Anthony Albanese has accused you of repeating Hamas propaganda. Now it is very difficult to know what the truth is coming out of the Middle East sometimes, but do you need to be more careful about the sources in which this is coming from? Were you too quick to jump on that for domestic political purposes?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

This is not about domestic political purposes. This is about what’s right. And there’s no ambiguity about the fact that there's been praise come from Hamas and that is not the endorsement you want of this policy. That's the important point here. Look, the objective here is peace in the Middle East, Laura, that is a tough problem. It's been a tough problem for a long while, but there's not a credible pathway in what's being proposed here at this point.

 

LAURA JAYES:

 

Angus Taylor, good to talk to you. See you soon.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Good to be with you, Laura.

 

 

ENDS.