Kevin Rudd’s spending package will burden generations of Australians with debt, and could weaken Australia’s ability to respond to growing international challenges created by the global financial crisis, Queensland Liberal Senator, Russell Trood said in Parliament today.

“The reality is that this new national debt will over hang the Commonwealth's budget for years to come and almost inevitably constrain spending and critical policy choices on national security,” Senator Trood said.

"The troubling thing at the moment is that the impact of this financial crisis globally is already becoming very evident and the geopolitical landscape is anything but reassuring. Already governments are turning inwards and economic protectionism is on the rise," Senator Trood said today.

“If the so-called stimulus package goes ahead, the Rudd Government could be forced to contend with these perils while being constrained by rising national debt and severely limited financial resources,” Senator Trood said.

“This should be a cause of deep concern to all Australians because the national security agenda is not getting any easier,” Senator Trood said.

”Australia could be spared the need for a massive increase in national security spending, but we still have to preserve our capacity to advance and protect our interests through military, diplomatic and other means,” Senator Trood said.

The government needs to answer some challenging questions:

“DFAT is already struggling with severe budgetary pressure, it needs between $20-25 million annually; if the nation is thrown into such large debt, where will these funds come from?” he said.

"How will the government be able to honour its commitment to maintaining defence spending of 3% in real terms every year to 2017?"

"How will the government secure its commitment to increasing Australia's foreign aid budget to 0.5% of GDP by 2015?"

"The government is putting Australia in a position where foreign policy and national security choices are becoming immeasurably more difficult. The budget overhands not just the economy but also our national security," Senator Trood said.

Senator Trood is the Deputy Chair of the Senate Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.