Australian Politics Forum

Pauline Hanson defends $400 billion defence plan that expert says could require conscription
Pauline Hanson is defending her plan to massively boost defence spending, after an expert warned it could require a compulsory measure not seen since the Vietnam War. :(

News.com.au
June 10, 2026

Pauline Hanson is defending her plan to massively boost defence spending, after an expert said it could slug taxpayers to the tune of $100 billion a year and require mandatory enlistment. :o

In comments to The Age, Marcus Hellyer from Strategic Analysis Australia referred to a speech Senator Hanson gave at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in late 2025.

The senator had urged Australia to lift defence spending to at least 5 per cent of GDP.

It was a suggestion also made by mining magnate Gina Rinehart during the federal election campaign earlier in the year, and a significant increase from the Trump administration’s own request for Australia to raise its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP.

In a November speech, Senator Hanson said Australia should lift defence spending to at least 5 per cent of GDP.

Mr Hellyer said the increase to 5 per cent would cost taxpayers about $400 billion over four years, with the funds having to come from tax increases or other portfolios, and might result in the reintroduction of conscription.

“To spend that amount of money, you’d need to get a lot more people into the defence force to operate all the equipment you are buying,” he said.

“You immediately start to think of some form of national service because you won’t get there voluntarily in peacetime.”

The 5 per cent figure was associated with wartime economies such as Ukraine and Israel, and not even South Korea spent that amount on defence, despite “sitting next to nuclear-armed North Korea”, Mr Hellyer said.

But a spokesperson for Senator Hanson’s office said spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence would bring Australia “in line with what the United States has asked allies to do to pull their weight”.

Australia last had conscription in 1972 during the Vietnam War

“This is in line with what NATO has now agreed to under The Hague Summit declaration.”

The NATO 5 per cent measure was made up of two buckets: 3.5 per cent on core defence spending, and 1.5 per cent on infrastructure networks, civil preparedness and resilience, and the defence industrial base, the spokesperson said.

Under the “traditional” measure (direct military spending), Australia’s defence budget was currently 2.13 per cent of GDP and forecast to fall to 2.04 per cent in 2027-28, Senator Hanson’s office said.

“The government is promising big increases in funding, sometime in the second half of the next decade. Today and over the forward estimates, defence funding is going nowhere.”

The spokesperson did not address a question from news.com.au asking if the 5 per cent figure would require conscription.

Australia last had conscription in 1972, when the National Service Scheme required 20-year-old men, selected through a birthday ballot, to serve in the Vietnam War.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has said the country is spending 2.8 per cent of GDP on defence, with plans to increase that figure to 3 per cent by 2033 when using NATO’s methodology.

The new strategy “affirms that Australia faces its most complex and threatening strategic circumstances since the end of World War II”, Mr Marles said when he unveiled the plan in April.

Where's the money coming from?. :(

Hard to imagine, I know, but Pauline Hanson is twice as *dumb as Donald Trump.

(*dumb has a 'b' in it - not many people know that)

whiteknight wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 1:44pm:

Where's the money coming from?. :(

From Chris Bowen's net zero budget and from cutting back on other wasteful government spending

The mind absolutely boggles! We can’t get Volunteers to join our services - even with good pay and conditions - to fill all the front end vacancies. How the hell are we going to get People to train theses lucky conscripts - let alone provide accommodation, feed and dress them?

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

Thats one thing I admire about the Americans, they respect and thank their service people. They are thanked before events, given preferred treatment in most places, and given respect from the community.

Australians just don't have the character to encourage service.

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

With service men and women's conditions of service actually going backwards because of inflation, why the surprise. ::)

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Greggy,
when you hang a woman you better look at her.

Bobby. wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:22pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Greggy,
when you hang a woman you better look at her.

Woman?

That's a generous assumption.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:25pm:

Woman?

That's a generous assumption.

When you hang a man you better look at him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZTe-_yqmhQ

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Nonsense from you once again (as always), lying creep.

Ah.

That explains the stench in the air this morning.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Utter nonsense.

Your lefty that has nothing race card has expired.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:25pm:

Bobby. wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:22pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Greggy,
when you hang a woman you better look at her.

Woman?

That's a generous assumption.

Yes a woman - a biological woman that has given birth & breast fed a child. 4 times to be exact.

Our Prime Minister & his cohort of incompetents & his bureaucrats can't even define what a woman is.

You?

Screenshot_2026-06-11_124831_001.jpg (33 KB | 4 )

Gnads wrote on Jun 11^th, 2026 at 12:52pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Utter nonsense.

Your lefty that has nothing race card has expired.

When Greggy hangs a man he better look at him.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 11^th, 2026 at 10:26am:

Ah.

That explains the stench in the air this morning.

Yeah that mob of morons are a stench.

Gnads wrote on Jun 11^th, 2026 at 12:55pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:25pm:

Bobby. wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:22pm:

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 10:15pm:

Frank wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 9:28pm:

Vic wrote on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 6:30pm:

What did you expect after generations of Australians have been brow beaten and told that they are wacist, sexist, white supremacists and generally far right if they are proud of Australia.

Pauline Hanson IS a racist, white supremacist.

Greggy,
when you hang a woman you better look at her.

Woman?

That's a generous assumption.

Yes a woman - a biological woman ...

Yeah? Prove it.

Actually, NO ... Don't bother.

Seems to have gotten a bit nasty ?

Besides without Paul who would be in charge of the Burka ? Nobody looks as good in a Burka than Paulene.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 11^th, 2026 at 10:26am:

Ah.

That explains the stench in the air this morning.

You entered the room, despicable liar.

I don’t believe Pauline is stupid.

I believe she’s very intelligent and extremely cunning.

I don’t actually believe she’s a racist.

If you complain about anyone who is different to yourself you are automatically labeled a racist regardless if your complaint is totally legitimate!

Her biggest problem is consistency surrounding herself with male losers seeking to use her for their own gain ( hello James , did Peter slipper really ever love you?).

It’s almost a free country and she’s totally entitled to her views.

In know way do I agree with them but I can understand why so many, many people are sick of Labor and the LNP and throwing their support behind her and her motley crew of crew of adulterers ( hi Barnaby) and random crazies.

The devil we know is now completely on the nose and absolutely anyone is more electable than Angus and Albo.

Don’t vote.

Save your $5 taxpayer dollars sent to the party you vote for till the dust settles and these duds that have been failing the country for decades are dusted off.

Either she's doing something right or the others are doing it all wrong - now majority preferred PM at 33% ...

Well, well, well... (that old songline across the desert) ...

Australian Politics Forum
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl General Discussion >> Federal Politics >> Pauline Hanson Plan To Boost Defence Spending http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1781062959 Message started by whiteknight on Jun 10^th, 2026 at 1:42pm