Letter

In response to Only a third of Australians support increasing defence spending: new research

Military can fight climate crisis

In April, just a third of Australians backed higher defence spending. Bravo! Depressingly, global military outlays hit $2,718 billion in 2024 — up 9.4% on 2023 and the sharpest rise since the Cold War, says the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Sadly, NATO aims to push spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.

Militaries are massive polluters, responsible for at least 5.5% of global emissions – likely more, given secrecy and the exclusion of wartime emissions. Australia explicitly excluded military emissions from its 2022 climate pledges. However, now that Australia has a Defence Net Zero Strategy launched in 2024, the ADF can begin to fight the climate crisis too – a justifiable use of any increase in spending.

And while we’re at it, let’s join the other 121 nations in the Non-Aligned Movement. As you report, an ABC poll published in April found “two-thirds of Australians say the United States can’t be trusted as a security ally and want to develop a more independent defence capacity".

Let’s choose security through sustainability and sovereignty – not more bombs, bases, and blind allegiance.

— Ray Peck from Hawthorn