Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2024

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). This means the original motion will remain unchanged.

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) expresses concern at the dramatic scaling back of Australia's contribution to the biennial Rim of the Pacific military exercises;

(b) notes that the diminished contribution sends a dangerous message about the nation's capacity to deter regional threats;

(c) notes that the former Coalition government grew defence spending from 1.56% of GDP under Labor—the lowest level since 1938—up to 2% of GDP;

(d) notes that the Coalition founded and fostered the game-changing and nation-building AUKUS defence and security agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom; and

(e) calls on the Albanese Labor Government to agree to take Australia's national security and defence seriously, show some leadership, and agree to the Opposition's sensible amendments to the bill".