Senator James Paterson, Shadow Minister for Defence, will Address the National Press Club of Australia on “Real spending for real capability: National Defence Strategy in-reply”.
Shadow Minister for Defence, Senator Paterson, will be responding to Defence Minister Richard Marles’ 16 April 2026 speech on the National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program.
Senator Paterson’s response will examine the government’s defence strategy, and he will outline the Coalition’s approach to the Defence portfolio.
Senator James Paterson is a Liberal Senator for Victoria, Shadow Minister for Defence. First elected in March 2016 at age 28, Senator Paterson is the youngest Liberal ever elected to the Senate.
During his time in the Senate, he has fought for Australia’s prosperity, freedom, democracy and sovereignty.
He was previously Shadow Minister for Finance, and prior to that, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security. Earlier in his Parliamentary career, he served as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and has also chaired the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, and the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee.
Prior to entering the Senate, James was Deputy Executive Director of free market think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs. He previously worked for the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI), and in the office of Senator the Hon. Mitch Fifield.
He has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne. He completed the Senior Executives in National and International Security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School, is a graduate of the McKinnon Institute Advanced Political Leadership program, was the 2023 SR Nathan Exchange Fellow to Singapore and was a 2023 Asia Fellow of the International Strategy Forum. Senator Paterson is the patron of Liberal Friends of Israel.
James is a member of the Richmond Football Club and lives in Melbourne with his wife, Lydia, and their two children.
