Transcript | Channel 7 Sunrise | 13 June 2025

Friday 13 June 2025

Interview on Channel 7 Sunrise

Topics: Albanese Trump meeting, AUKUS submarines, defence spending

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 

MONIQUE WRIGHT: The Prime Minister departs Australia today, beginning his journey to the G7 summit, where a meeting with US President Donald Trump is likely. However, it certainly hasn't been confirmed. Anthony Albanese is under mounting pressure to secure talks after Mr Trump's Defence Secretary announced his department would review our multi-billion dollar AUKUS deal. Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly criticised our defence spending as well, urging that it be lifted as soon as possible. For more we're joined now by Health Minister Mark Butler and Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson. Morning to you both. Good to see you. Mark, we'll start with you. Look, we know that reviews happen. It is odd though that this AUKUS review was announced so publicly it's even called a snap review. 

MARK BUTLER: Well it is unsurprising that a new government would want to review a project as significant as AUKUS. We did it through our Defence Strategic Review and the British Government recently conducted a review itself. So this is unsuprising to us. It had been discussed with our Defence Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. We welcome it. We're gonna cooperate very fully with it as we did the British review. 

MONIQUE WRIGHT: But it's the public nature of it, Mark. That's the unusual thing. These things usually happen behind closed doors. It's not announced that we're gonna review this with a new administration.

MARK BUTLER: We were very public with our defence strategic review. There was no secret that the British were reviewing a project as significant as this. I think the important thing for the Australian people, certainly for my community in the western suburbs of Adelaide that will be building the AUKUS submarines, is we have full confidence this project will go ahead. It's in our interest, it's in America's interests and it's in the British people's interests as well. 

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Okay, James let's talk about what the Opposition thinks about all of this, commentators this morning saying that Mr Albanese is on a mission to save the AUKUS Pact, does the Coalition feel it needs to be saved? 

JAMES PATERSON: It absolutely must be and I agree with everything Mark said at the end of his answer there, that it is something that's in the interest of Australia but also the interest of the UK and the United States. And we wish the Prime Minister well on what is a very important mission for our country. The person who's conducting the review, Elbridge Colby, is someone I know. I've met with him twice in Washington DC to discuss AUKUS and I'm very familiar with his views. And there are two major issues we have to overcome. The first is the US defence industry ability to produce submarines and we've got a good story to tell. We're contributing $3 billion towards that task. But the second is Australia's ability to receive and operate these Virginia-class submarines without it coming expense of ADF capability, and that's a much harder task. He believes we're not spending enough on defence and all of our defence and national security experts in Australia believe that too. So in our own national interest we should increase our defence spending and it will also help convince the Trump administration that we're serious about AUKUS. 

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Mark is that going to happen in the coming months just quickly? There's rumours that you are going to announce that defence spending is going to be 3% of GDP. You gonna do it? 

MARK BUTLER: Well the Prime Minister's been clear of course if there was a case for greater capability, we would fund that capability. There's nothing more important for a national government to do than to fund its defence. But you know James through the campaign they talked about a particular figure, not telling the Australian people where the money would come from and not telling the Australian people importantly about what it would pay for. So we take this project by project. If the defence force needs greater capability, of course an Australian government would fund it. 

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Okay, well we understand that the Prime Minister is boarding a flight, he's got a big trip ahead. Thank you both for being with us this morning, Mark and James.

JAMES PATERSON: Thank you. 

ENDS

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