The review,to be led by former Labor defence minister Stephen Smith and former defence force chief Sir Angus Houston,will run in parallel to the deliberations of a working group into the new submarine fleet,set up under the AUKUS alliance struck with the United States and United Kingdom last year.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine raising concerns that China might use force against Taiwan,the review will question the spending priorities on all major defence programs and whether the outlays are giving the country the security it needs.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese went to the election with a pledge to maintain defence spending but Labor has blamed the previous government for leaving Australia with a “capability gap” because too many projects have been delivered too late and over their original budgets.
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“Military modernisation,technological disruption and the risk of state-on-state conflict are complicating Australia’s strategic circumstances,” say the terms of reference for the review,to be released on Wednesday.
In a sign that every aspect of defence needs scrutiny,the terms of reference say the purpose of the inquiry is to assess the “structure,posture and preparedness” of the ADF and whether it can meet the challenges over the next decade.
While department officials and military chiefs conducted a Defence Strategic Update and Force Structure Plan two years ago,the government has called in the two outside experts in a clear sign it wants a fresh assessment of department decisions.