Tue Apr 28

Meghan Quinn becomes first woman to head Defence Department

Written by: Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Meghan Quinn will move from secretary of the Industry Department to head the high-profile Defence Department – the first woman to hold that post.

She follows Greg Moriarty, who has become Australia’s ambassador to the United States.

Quinn will oversee the government’s recently announced 2026 National Defence Strategy ^[1], which promises an extra $14 billion over four years and an extra $53 billion over a decade.

Quinn was a former deputy secretary in Treasury and previously also worked for BHP and the Bank of England. Her experience in the industry portfolio will be particularly relevant to her new job, although she lacks experience in the national security area.

Asked whether choosing someone from outside the Defence Department was an acknowledgement that organisation needed to be shaken up, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

No, it’s an acknowledgement that Meghan Quinn was the best qualified person when we considered all of the potential applicants.

Quinn is the latest of a number of women the government has appointed to very senior positions. In the recent new military line-up, Susan Coyle ^[2] was made chief of army.

At his news conference, Albanese pointed out that a majority of his cabinet, as well as a majority of his caucus, are women.

He highlighted other top jobs that have gone to women under his government, including the heads of Treasury, the Reserve Bank, and the Productivity Commission.

Meanwhile, the shadow defence minister, James Paterson, has urged the government to examine whether Australia should seek to purchase a fleet of B-21 strike aircraft.

Paterson, addressing the National Press Club, drew on a recommendation made in a 2024 paper for the Institute of Public Affairs ^[3] by defence experts Peter Jennings, Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge.

Meghan Quinn becomes first woman to head Defence Department

The B-21 Raider stealth bomber is unveiled at Northrop Grumman in 2022. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

They wrote:

The government should seek to acquire the B-21 Raider stealth bomber as an additional element to AUKUS, also offering to host a US B-21 contingent in Australia.

This is to strengthen deterrence in the 2020s and manage the risk of delays in the AUKUS submarine.

The aircraft is described ^[4] as “a dual-capable penetrating strike stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions”.

Paterson, in his first major defence speech in the shadow portfolio, said:

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz shows how events a long way from Australia can have profound impacts on our economic and national security.

Our primary security threat is not an invasion of our homeland. It is coercion leveraging our supply chain vulnerabilities.

If we think closure of the Hormuz has been uncomfortable, just imagine a scenario where the Straits of Malacca are. Australia must have the ability to deter coercion like this.

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson addresses the National Press Club. Lukas Coch/AAP

Paterson said the B-21 was “a maturing design, scheduled to enter service next year.

Now I realise – in the age of missiles and drones – another US-origin, expensive, crewed platform seems incongruous with the lessons of Ukraine and Iran.

But Australia’s geography is different. Our primary theatres for potential conflict are thousands of kilometres away.

There will likely always be a need for crewed capabilities alongside autonomous ones.”

He said it was not clear “whether the US would be willing to share the B-21 with Australia, or how we would fit into their production schedule.

However, they did export the F-35A to Australia and if they are willing to share the crown jewel of the US Navy, a nuclear submarine, we are better placed than any other ally to ask.

Paterson conceded the aircraft was not recommended by the Defence Strategic Review of 2023 ^[5]. "But that was three years ago, before President Trump was elected for his second term,” he said.

Since then, our strategic environment has only further deteriorated and concerns about a capability gap have grown louder.

I am not here banging the lectern, demanding the government place an order tomorrow. I am not even saying a future Coalition government would buy them. But I am asking the government to take a careful second look at this.