Event: Australia

Australia ‘ill-prepared’ for conflict, shadow defence minister saysAustralians are being lulled into a false sense of security about threats of conflict, a Coalition senator says, as he calls for more transparency on risks to defence.In a major speech to the National Press Club on Tuesday, shadow defence minister James Paterson said military leadership and the government needed to be more forthcoming on looming dangers, AAP reports.He said openness would allow the public to be more on board with rises in military spending in coming years.“If the Australian public knew how likely conflict is in our own region in the near future, and how ill-prepared we were for it, they would be marching in the streets demanding higher defence spending,” Paterson said in the address. double quotation markInstead of being honest with the Australian people about the threat and our preparedness, they are being lulled into a false sense of security. James Paterson addresses the National Press Club in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPPaterson said a way to lay out the threats would be an annual address by the chief of the defence force on the security challenges. Such a speech would be similar to the annual threat assessment done by Asio head Mike Burgess. double quotation markAustralians are hungry for more candour about the dangers we face and they are entitled to it. Key events55m agoMan dies after being swept from the rocks at WA beach1h agoAustralia ‘ill-prepared’ for conflict, shadow defence minister says2h agoJapan’s ‘Iron Lady’ to visit Australia next week4h agoNT police believe man led missing five-year-old girl away from Alice Springs town camp4h agoAlbanese gives update on news media bargaining code4h agoNSW to get major update to public transportation ticketing system5h agoAngus Taylor says plan to double fuel reserve an insurance plan for future crisis6h agoUK inquiry finds…