RSL boss Peter Tinley backs predecessor Greg Melick after he’s slapped down over call to lift defence spend

A former special forces soldier has backed in one of Australia’s longest serving army major generals, just hours after the Veterans Affairs Minister slapped him down over an impassioned plea to lift Australia’s defence force spend.

Matt Keogh issued the stinging rebuke in London overnight, scolding recently retired RSL boss Greg Melick for his critique of the country’s preparedness for future conflicts during a Remembrance Day service in Canberra on Tuesday.

But National President of RSL Australia Peter Tinley said the retired army major general had a long and enduring track record of serving his country and was “entitled to have a last reflection on where the country’s going”.

“Nothing Greg Melick said should be taken with offence,” Mr Tinley said.

“It was said with the point of view of a patriot who is deeply concerned about the geostrategic challenges in our region, that’s why we’re doing AUKUS.

“It came from a place of deep love for his country and after decades of service, both in and out of uniform.”

Mr Melick used his prime time Remembrance Day appearance speaking in front of the Governor General and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to warn that Australia’s current defence spending levels were not enough compared to the threat the nation faces.

“Despite the fact that this nation has been involved in wars more often than not since Federation, I fear we remain complacent,” he said.

“Our Defence Minister is keenly aware of the issues facing his portfolio, so the challenge before him is to convince his colleagues to rebalance our priorities - otherwise in future Remembrance Day ceremonies we may well regret the conflict we didn’t deter and remember those who we demanded to protect us without the necessary wherewithal.

“For many years, the RSL’s defence and security committee has been agitating, without apparent success, on the need to ensure that we bolster our defence spending and significantly increase our reserves, especially in fuel and ammunition, to best equip our dedicated servicemen and women before we send them into harm’s way.”

But, speaking after laying a wreath at the memorial in Hyde Park Corner, Mr Keogh told reporters that Mr Melick’s views were unwelcome on November 11.

“I think it’s actually probably not the thing that we should be focusing on on a day like Remembrance Day,” Mr Keogh said.

He said Mr Melick should read the government’s Defence Strategic Review and National Defence Strategy.

“I encourage everyone, including the former president of the National RSL, to make sure that they’re across all of those documents and what the Government is actually doing,” he said.

Co-author of the Defence Strategic Review, Peter Dean — a former aide to former Defence Minister Stephen Smith who co-wrote the review, has called for defence spending to be lifted to 3 per cent of GDP.

Currently, Labor has defence spending at around 2 per cent of GDP.

When asked by a journalist if Mr Melick’s comments were out of line, Mr Keogh responded: “That might be your position”.

Last month Professor Dean published research for the United States Studies Centre exposing Australia’s capability gap when it comes to air defences.

“In reviewing current Defence investment priorities and strategic guidance, there is one very obvious capability gap that is currently not prioritised and critical to defence capability and the nation’s defence strategy: Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD),” Professor Dean said.

“The ADF has a growing capability gap. A gap that contemporary conflicts have highlighted is critical to homeland defence and force protection.”

His report called on the Labor government to prioritise funding air defences in next year’s defence spending strategy.

He warned that “a modern-day threat to Australia is not unrealistic.”

“China’s continued use of military coercion in the region to achieve its political objectives represents, as the Australian Government has noted, a grave risk to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

“The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) military capabilities are massively expanding and extend to the ability to conduct missile and air attacks against the northern region of Australia.”