Ex-General Warns Australia Faces Worst Security Crisis Since WWII, Demands Defense Strategy Overhaul
RSL leader invokes 1941 threat level at Remembrance Day, says only 30% of Gen Z willing to fight for country
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A former Australian major general used Monday’s Remembrance Day ceremony to issue an urgent warning about national complacency, calling for development of a grand strategy to address what he described as the most dangerous security environment in the Indo-Pacific region since 1941.
Major General Greg Mellick, speaking at the Australian War Memorial before the Governor-General, Prime Minister and other senior officials, said the nation risks repeating historical failures by failing to adequately prepare for potential conflict despite clear warnings from the Defence Strategic Review.
“As the Defence Strategic Review has outlined, the strategic situation in the Indo-Pacific region has never been as dire since 1941,” Mellick said. “We were fortunate to survive then thanks to battles such as the Coral Sea, Isharava and Milne Bay, as well as the United States industrial might.”
The commemorative address, delivered to mark the sacrifice of more than 103,000 Australians whose names appear on the memorial’s honour rolls, took an unusually pointed political turn as Mellick challenged the government to rebalance national priorities and significantly increase defense spending.
“I call for consideration to be given to the development of a grand strategy from which our defence strategy could be drawn,” Mellick said, invoking warnings from British military leaders about nations defaulting to military strategy without broader strategic planning.
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Poll Shows Generation Z Reluctance
Mellick cited recent polling data showing only 30% of Generation Z Australians are prepared to fight for their country, contrasting that figure with the dedication of wounded Ukrainian soldiers he recently met who demanded to return to combat rather than reunite with families.
“A recent Australian poll showed that only 30% of Generation Z were prepared to fight for their country,” Mellick said. “That result is not reflective of the commitment of those I know of that generation, but it is cause for concern.”
The general, speaking in his capacity as National President of the RSL and member of the Australian War Memorial Council, described visiting badly wounded Ukrainian servicemen and women in Croatia undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.
“He described people with horrific injuries such as lower jaws or lower limbs missing. Without exception, they were all demanding rehabilitation as soon as possible. Not to get back to their families, but to get back to fighting Russians and helping rebuild the country,” Mellick said.
He invoked John F. Kennedy’s famous inaugural address, suggesting Australians need to reconsider their relationship with national service.
“Perhaps it is time we start to act in accordance with John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s mantra of thinking not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” Mellick said.
RSL Calls for Defense Spending Increase
Mellick revealed the RSL’s Defence and Security Committee has spent years pushing unsuccessfully for increased defense spending and expanded reserves of fuel and ammunition to properly equip Australian servicemen and women before deployment.
“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,” Mellick said.
The general argued that without a grand strategy to inform defense planning and adequate funding, Australia’s military readiness becomes “a matter of what we can afford and not what we need.”
“Without a grand strategy to inform it and without sufficient funding, our defence strategy risks becoming a matter of what we can afford and not what we need,” Mellick said.
Historical Warnings of Complacency
Mellick wove historical examples throughout his address to illustrate the dangers of national complacency, reaching back to ancient Athens and forward through British rearmament in the 1930s.
He quoted extensively from Edward Gibbon’s history of Rome’s decline, applying ancient lessons to modern Australia.
“In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all. Security, comfort and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society, but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again,” Mellick said.
The general noted that even Neville Chamberlain, often criticized for appeasement policies, ensured Britain expanded defense capabilities from 1935, with spending reaching 55% of GDP by 1943.
“If Churchill’s exhortations had been heated earlier, Britain might have been in a position not only to win the battle for Britain, but also to react to German expansion in time to prevent the takeover of the Suddenland and ensuring world war,” Mellick said.
Prime Minister Deakin’s 1907 Warning
Mellick invoked a 1907 warning from Prime Minister Alfred Deakin that resonates with current security concerns, suggesting little has changed in more than a century.
“When we will be attacked, it will not be with kid gloves or after convenient notice, but it will be when and where we least desire it and with a remorseless fury,” Mellick quoted Deakin as saying. “In order that Australians may continue to enjoy the blessings of peace, the Commonwealth must be prepared to spend more liberally than it has ever done on its defence and defence forces.”
The general argued that courage and initiative alone won’t suffice in modern warfare, citing the technological sophistication of contemporary battlefields.
“We should never forget that servicemen and women of my father’s generation commenced their training with broomsticks and won through with sheer courage, initiative and resilience. Sadly, these will not be enough in today’s strategic situation, especially with the ever-increasing technological nature of the battlefield and the vast range of modern ordnance and weapons,” Mellick said.
Challenge to Defence Minister
Mellick concluded his address with a direct challenge to Australia’s Defence Minister, acknowledging the minister understands the issues but needs to convince cabinet colleagues to act.
“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,” Mellick said. “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.”
Ceremony Honors Sacrifice
The ceremony at the Australian War Memorial brought together Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Leader of the Opposition, ministers, the Chief of Defence Force, and Dr. Newhouse alongside veterans and members of the public.
Mellick opened by acknowledging the sacrifice represented by the more than 103,000 names inscribed on the memorial’s honour rolls, calling the site a “stark reminder of the price paid by so many and their families.”
“We also remember, too, the tens of thousands who gave their health,” Mellick said.
He cited specific examples of devastating family losses during World War I, including William and Fanny Seabrook from Sydney, who lost three sons at Passchendaele, and the Watherson family from Port Lincoln, who had four sons killed in battle along with two cousins.
Indigenous Service Recognition
Mellick highlighted the proud service record of the Indigenous Lovers family, who had at least 23 members serve from World War I through East Timor despite facing discrimination.
“Many families have proud records of service going back over 100 years, including the Indigenous Lovers family who have had at least 23 members served during the period from World War I to East Timor, despite being technically ineligible to serve during World War I and unable to join their comrades in licensed clubs after wars because of Australia’s liquor licensing laws,” Mellick said.
The address also marked two military anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Signals Corps and the 75th anniversary of the Royal Australian Nursing Corps.
Lessons for the Future
Mellick emphasized that Remembrance Day should serve not only as commemoration but as preparation for future challenges, connecting past sacrifice to present readiness.
“Today should not only be a day of remembrance of past achievements, we also must remember the lessons of past conflicts to ensure we are appropriately prepared for what the future may bring,” Mellick said. “It is only by thinking deeply about the lessons of the past and how they might ready us for the future that we can ensure their sacrifice were not in vain.”
He closed with the traditional remembrance phrase after calling on Australians to honor those who have served and to properly prepare for conflicts the nation hopes to avoid.
“Let us today honour the service and sacrifice of all who have worn the nation’s uniform and the families that love and support them. Let us appropriately prepare for a conflict we hope never comes, and give thanks to the remarkable men and women who stand ready to defend our freedom and our values, lest we forget,” Mellick said.
Following the address, wreaths were laid beginning with Governor-General Mostyn and continuing with Prime Minister Albanese and other dignitaries, maintaining the ceremony’s traditional solemnity despite the urgent nature of Mellick’s warnings about Australia’s strategic vulnerability.
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