Australia’s air defence systems would only be able to protect Darwin for 12 hours if China launched an attack today, according to a startling claim from former second-in-command of HMAS Darwin, Jennifer Parker.
The alarming revelation was made during last night’s 7NEWS Spotlight program, where journalist Liam Bartlett exposed serious weaknesses in the Australian Defence Force, including vulnerabilities in bases, technology shortfalls and a budget that fails to address current and future threats.
Speaking on the program, Parker warned that while Australia isn’t facing imminent attack, the nation was dangerously underprepared.
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“What is happening is the likelihood of a conflict in the region is increasing,” Parker said.
“Why are we so under-prepared? It’s kind of two reasons. One, governments always have to balance the budgets. They have to manage risk.”
Parker explained that for decades, Australian governments have been managing risk rather than properly financing defence capabilities needed to fight from Australian soil.
“The second element is the decisions that were made around ships et cetera that the government has now made were made too late,” she said.
If Darwin were to come under attack, Parker said the city would be able to defend itself for “about 12 hours” and would then be reliant on US support.
“I think the Navy is probably one of the examples where we’re hurting the most,” she said.
The former naval officer highlighted a critical shift in Australia’s defence requirements, noting that for two decades the country has deployed forces overseas under US protection, but now faces the potential of defending from home.
“Now we’re talking about the potential of having to fight from Australia, which means the ability to protect our critical infrastructure, our civilian population from things like missiles and drones. When it comes to that, we don’t have the capabilities we need,” Parker warned.
Despite increased government spending, Parker said defence investment remains inadequate at 2.04 per cent of GDP, arguing Australia needs approximately 3 per cent to acquire necessary capabilities.
She identified key areas requiring urgent investment, including integrated air and missile defence systems to protect critical infrastructure and civilians from missile attacks.
“We’ve seen from Ukraine to the Middle East, modern warfare is all about missiles,” Parker said.
Other priority areas include sovereign space capability for military communications and navigation, and increased naval investment to protect Australia’s maritime trade routes.
“When you think about Australia, we are an island. 91 per cent to 99 per cent of our trade comes to the maritime domain,” she explained.
The revelations come as US President Donald Trump demands allies, including Australia, increase their defence spending to meet growing regional security challenges.
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