In his press conference, Peter Dutton said:

“We don’t achieve a position of strength if we rip $80 billion out of Defence. That’s what Labor has done.”

It’s not the first time the Coalition has made this $80bn cut claim:

Media Release: Labor’s $80 billion defence cuts and delays to come under scrutiny – Phillip Thompson OAM MP

But Defence spending IS INCREASING. Dutton is very miffed and calls it misleading when Labor talks about $80b cut from health and education in the 2014 budget. That was trimming the rate of growth from what was previously expected. 

But he uses the same sort of whoosh whoosh to make this defence claim against Labor

Here’s the April 2024 announcement from Defence Minister Richard Marles: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/17/labor-government-defence-military-budget-increase-spending-adf

Yes, some programs got cut, trimmed, deferred – but as part of an overall net increase in defence funding:

From that story:

“Plans for Australia to acquire new F-35 fighter jets have been put on the back burner as part of a major funding overhaul that the government says will deliver an overall increase in defence spending.

The Albanese government is pouring an extra $50bn into defence spending over the next 10 years and pledging toensure the military can project power further from Australia’s shores.

While the funding is going up overall, the government says it is freeing up about $73bn over 10 years by cutting, delaying or changing the scope of some defence projects.

Even after these cuts are taken into account, however, the government says it has committed an extra $50.3b for Defence over the next 10 years, which includes a net increase of $5.7b over the immediate four-year budget cycle.