By Denis Hay
Description
Defence spending takes priority over Australians’ real needs, housing, health, and cost-of-living support.
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Introduction: A Nation Out of Balance
The latest Ipsos Issues Monitor shows that cost of living, housing, crime, and healthcare matter most to Australians. Yet fewer than 8 per cent name defence as a concern. Despite this, defence spending in Australia now stands at about A$59 billion for 2025-26, a record amount.
While households struggle with rent hikes, soaring groceries, and lengthy hospital waits, government priorities tell a different story. If our leaders can mobilise billions for submarines and foreign military bases, why not for homes, hospitals, and community safety?
The government’s growing defence spending shows how far priorities have shifted from citizens’ needs.
The Problem: Spending That Ignores Public Needs
1. Australians Struggle While Defence Budgets Soar
According to SBS’s “If the Budget Were $100”, defence receives $6.60, health $15.90, and welfare $37.00. The government insists on “fiscal responsibility” when it comes to families, but not when signing billion-dollar arms contracts.
This surge in defence spending contrasts sharply with the lack of targeted cost-of-living support.
The mismatch is stark: Australians cite the cost of living in Australia as their top issue, yet policies focus on militarisation. A nation cannot claim security when its citizens cannot afford food, rent, or electricity.
Internal link: Inflation in Australia: How It’s Reshaping Everyday Life
2. Housing and Healthcare Left Behind
The 2025-26 Budget allocates A$9.3 billion to social housing and homelessness, barely a sixth of defence spending. Hospitals receive about A$33.9 billion in Commonwealth funding, far short of what’s needed to end long emergency queues and staff shortages.
Using public money productively, Australia could expand housing supply and modernise hospitals without “finding” tax revenue. As a sovereign currency issuer, the Commonwealth can fund whatever domestic resources are available.
Internal link: Social Justice in Australia: Its Meaning and Path to Equality
The Impact: What Australians Are Experiencing
3. Everyday Australians Feel Forgotten
Workers juggle multiple jobs. Families spend over 30 per cent of their income on rent. Hospitals cancel surgeries due to staff burnout. Meanwhile, record military budgets create jobs, but not the kind that house or heal people.
This deepens inequality and fuels public frustration. Cost of living in Australia headlines dominate the news, yet solutions are still tokenistic while weapons programs thrive.
Internal link: Why It Feels So Hard to Get Ahead in Australia Today
4. Who Benefits from the Defence Boom – and Who Are We Really Defending Against?
Arms corporations and political donors benefit most. AUKUS contracts flow to foreign firms. U.S. forces rotate through Darwin, and Pine Gap stays a key U.S. intelligence hub.
So, who is Australia defending against? Officially, the government cites a “deteriorating Indo-Pacific environment.” Australia faces no imminent invasion. The real risk lies in our alliance obligations. Much of this defence spending directly supports U.S. strategic goals, not Australian security.
When Washington pursues containment of China, Australia follows, even if it damages trade and peace. This dependence undermines sovereignty and raises the uncomfortable truth: the greatest threat to Australia’s security is subservience to U.S. militarism.
Economic insecurity, environmental decline, and eroded independence are the dangers we should fear. As a nation with dollar sovereignty, Australia can defend its people through prosperity, not through weapons for U.S. wars.
The Solution: What Must Be Done
5. Use Dollar Sovereignty for People, Not War
Australia issues its own currency. It cannot “run out” of money but can run out of political will. By embracing Modern Monetary Theory principles, the government could fund full employment, universal healthcare, and green infrastructure before military expansion.
Internal link: Investing in Peace: Rethinking Australia’s Defence Strategy
6. Re-prioritise the Budget for National Wellbeing
Australia can realign its priorities by:
- Expanding public housing nationwide.
- Investing heavily in healthcare staffing and preventive care.
- Addressing crime through community programs, not incarceration.
- Keeping defence strictly for territorial protection, not for U.S. wars.
Redirecting even 10 per cent of Australia’s defence spending toward housing and health would transform lives and strengthen genuine security.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why does Australia spend so much on defence?
Defence growth is politically tied to the U.S. alliance and AUKUS, not citizen demand. - Who are we really defending against?
Australia’s rising defence spending is driven more by alliance politics than genuine threats. No nation threatens Australia. The real danger is being drawn into conflicts created by foreign powers. - Can public money fund housing and health without cuts elsewhere?
Yes, as the currency issuer, Australia can fund both. The constraint is resources, not revenue. - What would happen if 10 per cent of defence spending were redirected?
Billions would build thousands of homes, hire nurses and teachers, and ease cost-of-living pressure.
Final Thoughts: Time to Fund What Matters
Australia’s defence spending reflects misplaced priorities. Citizens crave safety through stable housing, healthcare, and fair wages, not through missiles.
The U.S. agenda turns Australia into a forward base rather than an independent nation. True national defence means protecting Australians from poverty, insecurity, and neglect. It’s time to use our monetary sovereignty to build peace and prosperity at home.
What’s Your Experience?
Do you believe Australia’s defence spending protects our people, or serves U.S. interests? Share your view below.
Call to Action
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Engaging Question
What’s the first public investment you’d fund with Australia’s dollar sovereignty – housing, health, education, or green energy?
References
SBS: What the 2025 Federal Budget Looks Like If It Were $100.
Grattan Institute: Policy Challenges Australia Must Confront.
Strategic Analysis: Australia’s 2025-26 Defence Budget.
This article was originally published on Social Justice Australia
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Well, someone has finally addressed a real issue ignored for too long.
Always been an article of faith, “defence” for neolibs, defence spending- enables more cuts for social infrastructure out of an unjustified threat that normal people actually dismiss as horse-feathers.
Is China a threat? Possibly in the long run, but isn’t the Trumpian eras refusal to acknowledge the Revenue issue rather than via social infrastructure cuts, as big a threat also?
Thanks, Paul. Exactly, the “defence first” mindset has become neoliberal dogma. The real threat isn’t China, but our own refusal to invest in people and rebuild social infrastructure. With Australia’s dollar sovereignty, there’s no excuse for neglecting what truly keeps us secure.