A BIG increase in defence spending will pay for new ships, submarines and jet fighter-bombers and improved pay and conditions for personnel.
Defence funding for 2009-10 jumps to $26.6 billion, up around 20 per cent on the current year's estimated spending of $23.2 billion.
It includes $1.7 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. While more of Australia's troops in Iraq come home in July, more than 100 personnel will stay to protect Australia's diplomatic mission and its staff. That will cost $62 million.
Defence has been told to cut waste and find savings totalling $20 billion over the coming decade. That money will be reinvested in massive purchases of hardware, including 100 multi-role F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighters, 12 new-generation submarines and new surface ships for the navy. The expected internal savings run to $100 million in 2009-10, $200 million in 2011-12 and $1.7 billion in 2012-13.
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said a new defence funding model would impose discipline on spending and remedy what he calls chronic underfunding by the previous government, while covering the cost of the equipment detailed in the defence white paper. The budget will also cover new artillery, light vehicles and better small arms for the army, new equipment to counter improvised explosive devices plus improved satellite communications.
The Government says it can also save $19.4 million over two years by using the Australian Defence Force rather than provide security contractors to protect Australian Federal Police personnel in Afghanistan. The police are involved in narcotics control and will soon begin training members of the Afghan national police.
Reflecting growing concern about the security situation in Pakistan, Australia will spend $18 million over four years on Australian Federal Police help to agencies there. That will include helping with investigations of crime and terrorism and and other crime and with the collection and analysis of intelligence relating to Pakistan.
But planned funding of legislators in regional countries to help them draft and implement more effective counter-terrorism laws will end on June 30 next year, saving $5.3 million over the next three years.
And the customs service has been told to reduce the number of boardings of ships visiting Australia that are considered to be "low-risk" and to adopt a risk-based approach of checking mainly vessels with a rating of high or medium. That will save $8.6 million over four years.
