Sky News Afternoon Agenda

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Sky News
Afternoon Agenda 
Friday, 15 August 2025

SUBJECTS: Victory in the Pacific Day, National Defence Strategy, increase in ADF enlistment.

HOST, TOM CONNELL: I spoke to Veterans Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh a short time ago. Matt Keogh, thanks for your time. Globally, VE Day is a lot better known, but for Australians, of course, back in 1945, there was no true relief until Japanese surrender.

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL, MATT KEOGH: Absolutely, Tom. Victory in the Pacific Day, as we now know it, is incredibly important for Australians, in fact, all through the Pacific, and of course, for our closest ally, the United States, as well. The Second World War didn't conclude until we had that surrender on this day back in 1945. And so, it's a very important day that we commemorate across the country. We have our remaining Second World War veterans attending many services, like here in Townsville and of course, in Canberra later today as well.

CONNELL: It was such a brutal theatre of war, the Pacific. There was the weather, the relentless nature of it, in particular, because of our enemy at the time. The Japanese were fierce fighters, and also for anyone captured, they didn't believe in surrender, and that meant prisoners of war were treated really badly.

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly, the stories of the prisoners of war through the Second World War in the Pacific are harrowing, and I've had the unique opportunity of visiting places like Hellfire Pass on the Thai-Burma Railway, where so many Australians lost their lives in terrible conditions. But their stories are also the stories of mateship. They are the great example of those people that looked after each other in some of the most harrowing of times and the most difficult of circumstances. And from that, I think Australians take great pride. And it's important to remember that during the Second World War, Australia was only 7 million people, and a million people served in our forces and in our merchant navy as well. It had a huge impact across every town and village and city, rural area, regional and remote across Australia, everyone, every family was impacted.

CONNELL: Yes, so true. You mentioned mateship. The accounts I've read, in particular, some of the ones of prisoner of war accounts, it's incredible the sense of humour people manage to maintain as well.

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly, some might even call it trauma bonding. But the ability to see the silver lining in circumstances, the ability to bring humour, because that was all part of the hope that they held on to, that the war would end in our favour and that they would be able to be released from that captivity. And that's what kept them going, kept them alive. Being able to share that humour, sometimes pretty dark humour, but, you know, it was that unique Aussie larrikin spirit that kept them going.

CONNELL: World War I for Australia was very forming, and all about this war that was happening so far away and obviously, you know, it took so long even just to get there. And World War II was about war coming to our doorstep. Is it interesting having conversations with younger people? And I suppose a lot, if they haven't, for example, visited the war memorial, wouldn't be aware of how close war came. We were bombed in Darwin, there were submarine attacks from Sydney and Newcastle, and but for what happened on the seas, arguably in the Pacific as well, it could have been a full-scale invasion.

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly, the Second World War was the first time Australia had been attacked. And it's those stories like the bombing of Darwin, and even the bombing here in Townsville and across other towns and cities across the north of Australia, and, you know, the submarines that came into Sydney. It's those stories that brought the war close to home, not just in terms of people fighting it, but the impact on our own soil. And I think really brought to bear that existential nature of war and conflict. And if those stories passed on that are so important today about the importance of maintaining regional stability, maintaining a peace, because war has very real consequences, and that's not just in a far-flung place, but can be at home as well.

CONNELL: And that does bring us to today. So, in that scenario, I suppose many Australians suddenly realised how vulnerable Australia was. We're a bigger population now, we have better capability. But many defence experts are concerned about our vulnerability right now in the here and now. So, yes, there's work going on, but we don't have, you know, these long-range missile systems in terms of deterrence. We're struggling to get enough recruits into the ADF and you know, the upgrade of our next submarine fleet, part one relies on the US having enough submarines left over in terms of their production. What do you make of that warning? Is that something that Labor takes seriously, that right now it is a precarious time?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, certainly days like today, where we commemorate lives lost, sacrifices made, the impact on families and even those who returned home and the scars, mental and physical, that they bore. You know, we reflect on that service, we honour that service, and we think about what we need to do to maintain peace in our region today. And when we came into Government three years ago, that's why we commissioned the Defence Strategic Review, because we recognised that there was a gap that had been left by the previous government. And we set about conducting that review and implementing it through the National Defence Strategy, which we released at the beginning of 2024. And we've set about in earnest, reshaping our capability acquisition and the sorts of things that we need to do in our Defence Force, and that includes growing our Defence Force, and as we were speaking about last week, we've now seen the biggest enlistment growth in 15 years. So, we're taking the steps that are necessary in the circumstances that we find ourselves in now to make sure that Australia is properly defended, and we have the capabilities and the people that we need because we take that job incredibly seriously as a national Government.

CONNELL: It's a good bump in enlistment growth, I suppose whether or not it continues will be the key question. What do you pick up? You know, I'm sure there are surveys done and polling done on why, what the reluctance is for people to sign up with the ADF. Is an element that people signing up now, from what they read and hear, including in the media, there's a greater chance of them going into real existential conflict now, perhaps than there has been in the recent past?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, actually, Tom, we're seeing a huge growth in the number of people that are applying to join our Defence Force, and that's growing for the first time. The number of people in the Defence Force is growing for the first time it has in years. And we're seeing great growth in terms of the number of people applying and the number of people enlisting. So, we're really pleased to see that, and it reflects that people are looking to how can they serve their nation, and how can they give back to their community? And servicing the Australian Defence Force is a key way in which people can do that. And certainly, when people see the potential for conflict or the potential for threat, it actually makes them think about, well, how can I help? How can I serve my nation? And that's what we're seeing reflected in application numbers and in enlistments over the last year is those growing numbers, I think, reflect a growth in an understanding of these issues and of people's desire for a greater calling in joining the Defence Force.

CONNELL: Matt Keogh, appreciate your time today.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thank you very much.

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides 24/7 free confidential crisis support for current and ex-serving ADF personnel and their families on 1800 011 046 or the Open Arms website. Safe Zone Support provides anonymous counselling on 1800 142 072. Defence All-Hours Support Line provides support for ADF personnel on 1800 628 036 or the Defence Health Portal. Defence Member and Family Helpline provides support for Defence families on 1800 624 608