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PM doubles down on major defence investments
The Prime Minister has doubled down on recent major defence investments including nuclear submarines and Tomahawk missiles.
Anthony Albanese spoke in Sydney to throw his support behind Labor leader Chris Minns ahead of the New South Wales election on March 25.
But Albanese also faced questions about the recent multi-billion dollar investments in defence.
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Albanese has recently been in the US with fellow AUKUS leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK prime minister Rishi Sunak revealing details of the nuclear submarine plan.
Australia will spend up to $368 billion by 2055 to build a new fleet of eight nuclear-propelled submarines in Adelaide to enter service in the 2040s.
And the investment went further with an announcement today that Australia is set to buy 220 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US in a more than $1 billion deal.
The huge investments have raised questions about the necessity of spending billions and billions of dollars on the assets but Albanese has defended it.
He today doubled down on the investments as putting Australia in a "strategic position" amongst the current "security instability".
"We are very confident we got this right," he said.
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He said the government would release a defence strategic review next month to outline the assets Australia needs to defend itself and what is the best value for money.
"Australia is investing in our capability but we are also investing in our relationships," he said.
"All of the experts have looked at and considered the issue of submarines and as an island submarines are a vital piece of our defence framework.
"The truth is nuclear submarines are far superior than conventional submarines. They're faster, quieter and can stay under for longer."
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He flagged more announcements to come about Australia's investments in weaponry going forward.
'We want peace and security in our region," he said.
Albanese also said the quad leaders will come to Australia in November for a meeting.
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