The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, says strong national defence and a strong industry to provide the equipment required for protecting Australia is part of the government’s “progressive patriotism”.
Conroy will address the National Press Club in Canberra today, making the case that Labor, and not the Coalition, is the true party of defence and national security.
The speech will coincide with the release of the 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy and details of the government’s defence reform process. Already it has been reported that Conroy will point to nearly $30bn in wasteful spending on Defence projects. An audit found the average cost of a small sample of projects increased by nearly 40%, or $29bn, before contracts were finalised.
double quotation markProgressive patriotism, in the eyes of the Albanese government—and the great labour movement—is confidence in, and celebration of, what our national project has built
It is confidence in how it is evolving, and confidence in the future. Strong defence of our country—including the need to invest in our defence industry, people and systems—is a critical part of understanding what Australian progressive patriotism looks like today.
Building our defence industry, delivering the capabilities we need, is an investment in our country and offers the further dividend of deterrence to protect what our great national project has built.
We will bring you more on the speech at lunchtime today.
