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Australia news live: Andrew Hastie says US alliance weakened Australia; Sri Lanka hackers steal millions owed to Australia
TL;DR
Andrew Hastie claims that Australia's reliance on the US alliance has weakened its sovereign capabilities, particularly in defense. He emphasizes the need for Australia to reassess its national security strategy.
Key points
- Andrew Hastie criticizes the US alliance's impact on Australia
- He emphasizes the need for improved national security measures
- Hastie highlights the erosion of Australia's defense industry
- The reliance on the US has led to strategic trade-offs
Mentioned in this story
Andrew HastieRobert Menzies Institute
From
The Liberal frontbencher, Andrew Hastie, says doubling down on the US relationship has eroded Australia’s sovereign capability, including its defence industry, as he warns the country must “get serious” about national security to rebalance the alliance.
In a speech to the Robert Menzies Institute in Melbourne last night, the shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability said the reliance on the US meant “strategic trade-offs” that had hastened the deindustrialisation of Australia and “weakened our hard power”.
Andrew Hastie. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
He said it had cost Australia “sovereign capabilities like a robust defence industry”, and “strategic freedom of action” in ways that we are now becoming clear amid the Middle East war.
Hastie said under Donald Trump the US “should not be expected to guarantee much except its own strategic interests”, which meant Australia must “get serious about our own national security” by rebuilding its industrial base and a defence force “with teeth”.
double quotation markTo put it bluntly, if Anzus is going to continue for another 75 years, we need to invest in our industrial base and our defence force.
The former soldier has been an outspoken critic of Trump and his war in Iran, striking a different tone to the opposition leader Angus Taylor.
Cyber criminals have hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry’s computer system and siphoned off US$2.5 million, Agence France Presse reports.
It is the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in the debt-saddled country, which is recovering from a crippling economic crisis in 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its US$46 billion external debt.
The money was destined as debt repayment to Australia, finance ministry secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma told reporters in the capital.
Four senior officers at the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) were suspended after the breach, he said.
Authorities were alerted to an attempt to break into the ministry’s e-mail server, and investigations showed that a US$2.5 million payment owed to Australia had disappeared.
“Criminal investigators are looking into this and we are not in a position to give further details,” Suriyapperuma said, adding that Sri Lankan authorities were seeking help from foreign law enforcement agencies.
Q&A
How has the US alliance affected Australia's defense industry?
Andrew Hastie argues that the US alliance has eroded Australia's sovereign capabilities, leading to a weakened defense industry.
What did Andrew Hastie say about national security in his speech?
Hastie warned that Australia must 'get serious' about national security to rebalance its reliance on the US.
What are the consequences of Australia's reliance on the US?
Hastie noted that this reliance has resulted in strategic trade-offs and hastened the deindustrialisation of Australia.
Who is Andrew Hastie and what is his role?
Andrew Hastie is a Liberal frontbencher and the shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability in Australia.
