International Policies: How the major Parties Are Approaching Foreign Affairs, Asylum Seekers & Defence

LABOR

• Both the Labor and Liberal Party support and intend to keep ‘highly damaging’ policies of turning back asylum seeker boats and offshore detention processing
• Increase global aid to 0.5 per cent of gross national income, and increase that percentage every year (the amount of increase is not yet disclosed)

LIBERAL

• Both the Labor and Liberal Party support and intend to keep ‘highly damaging’ policies of turning back asylum seeker boats and offshore detention processing

GREENS

• Increase global aid to 0.7% of gross national income and increase Australia’s humanitarian intake to 50,000 a year
• Introduce 7-day limit for onshore detention and provide fair support for people seeking asylum

LABOR

• Increase Defence spending to 2% of GDP
• Plans to commission an Urgent Climate Risk Assessment of the implications of climate change for national security. Labor will also bid to host a future UN Climate Change COP in Australia and deliver a $200m climate and infrastructure partnership with Indonesia
• Plans to appoint a Special Envoy to ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to increase Australia’s strategic and diplomatic influence
• $6.5m to set up the Australia Pacific Defence School to train personnel from the Pacific islands

LIBERAL

• Says it will invest $575 billion in the Defence Force over the decade to 2029-30. This includes $270 billion for defence capability, and the $9.9 billion REDSPICE (Resilience, Effects, Defence, Space, Intelligence, Cyber and Enablers) package to boost Australia’s cybersecurity

GREENS

• The Greens plan to cancel defence contracts, renegotiate the US alliance and close all military bases that foreign militaries have set up in Australia
• Reduce military spending to 1.5 % of GDP
• Plan to pass War Powers legislation to ensure governments can’t send Australia to war without Parliamentary approval

LABOR

• Plans to deliver a $200m climate and infrastructure partnership with Indonesia
• $525m in aid over four years to the Pacific and Timor-Leste. This will include: $30m over four years to the ABC for a Indo-Pacific broadcasting strategy to combat the impact of Chinese state media in the region; additional $12m per year under the Pacific Maritime Security Program to help stop illegal fishing and drug smuggling; creating the Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership to support clean energy infrastructure projects; establishing a new Pacific engagement visa to encourage worker migration.
• Plans to appoint a Special Envoy to ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to increase Australia’s strategic and diplomatic influence

LIBERAL

• Details TBC

GREENS

• Not a key focus