Coalition defence policy: Sussan Ley attacks Labor’s national security agenda in major speech

Increasing spending on missiles and cultivating national pride to prepare for war would be key priorities of a Coalition government, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will declare as she aims to bolster her leadership by panning Labor’s security agenda.

In her first major speech on defence, Ley strikes a contrast with Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s doctrine of positive diplomacy earlier this week, instead arguing Australia should be more ready and resilient if diplomacy fails and conflict breaks out.

Ley’s keynote speech on Thursday at the Menzies Research Centre follows weeks of internal party feuding over energy policy and speculation of a leadership challenge from rivals including Andrew Hastie.

Hastie was the defence spokesman under Peter Dutton, and Ley’s keynote address, which identif