Labor will spend 'wise' on defence but remains coy on ceiling height

It follows an announcement made by Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese earlier this week to set a 2 per cent of gross domestic product "floor" for Defence spending.

Labor's defence spokesperson Brendan O'Connor on Sunday said the party had agreed to support the AUKUS deal, announced in September, but rebuffed being pushed on whether it meant Labor would issue a "blank cheque" for it by ABC's Insiders host David Speers.

"There is no investment 'too much' when it comes to the securing our citizens and our country," Mr O'Connor told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday morning.

"We'll spend money wisely. We'll make sure that we deliver the defence assets required."

Defence spending as a portion of gross domestic product dropped to 1.56 per cent during the Gillard government's 2012-13 budget nearly a decade ago, the Coalition said.

But Mr O'Connor said it wasn't just the top figure that mattered, pointing to a "litany of disasters" within the defence portfolio.

"You don't get to boast about spending on defence when you're wasting billions on failed or cancelled contracts," he said.

"That is not a good use of taxpayers' money. It's not actually delivering defence assets to this country."

He added the 2 per cent was likely to raise over time but that short and medium-term capability was crucial, in addition to longer-term projects like AUKUS.

"We have advice that talks about an immediate and intense risk to our national security except we do not see increased firepower to our current defense assets," he said.

"We need to see those platforms with better firepower, which will bring about increased deterrence now, not in 2040, not in 2038.

"That's one of the problems with this government. It talks big, it delivers very, very little."

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Coalition would be spending big, too, if it maintained government, pledging to increase the Defence workforce by 30 per cent by 2040.

The $38-billion plan would increase personnel numbers to 80,000 with the ACT and NSW receiving the largest bump in workforce.

In the short-term, an additional 800 uninformed personnel and 250 public servants would be hired with new recruits slated for the Australian Signals Directorate.

Labor's top line for its Defence plans, if it were to win government, were largely in step with the Coalition.

Mr Albanese said in his speech to the Lowy Institute this week his party would maintain the same position against China's aggression in the region.

It would consider plans for submarine capability during the decade-long period before nuclear-powered submarines, as part of the AUKUS deal, arrive but Mr Albanese would not yet commit on specific acquisitions.