The Australian government will invest an extra $50.3 billion into defence over the next decade as part of a long-awaited revamp of the nation’s armed forces strategy.
The funding boost comes following last year’s Defence Strategic Review, which argued Australia needed to modernise its current military structure it said was designed for a “bygone era”.
“The optimistic assumptions that guided defence planning after the end of the Cold War are long gone,” Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said when announcing the funding boost and the National Defence Strategy this afternoon.
“Our environment is characterised by the uncertainty and tensions of entrenched and increasing strategic competition between the United States and China; large-scale war has returned to the European continent; and conflict is once again gripping the Middle East…
“Australia no longer has the luxury of a ten-year window of strategic warning time for conflict.”Of the extra $50.3 billion in funding, $5.7 billion is for the next four years.
The funding boost will see Australia spend 2.4 per cent of GDP on defence by 2033-34 – about 0.3 per cent higher than previously planned.
That’s roughly on par with the likes of the United Kingdom and India, far lower than the US’s 3.5 per cent, and comfortably higher than what members of NATO are required to spend at 2 per cent.
While acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS will dominate military spending for the foreseeable future at up to $63 billion over the next ten years, Marles flagged a number of other focuses of the National Defence Strategy.
They include buying new artillery systems to increase the army’s current range of 30km to 500km, longer-range missiles for the air force and navy, an $18 billion funding boost for military bases in the country’s north, and more spending on drone technologies.
“We have all seen the prevalence of drones in combat, including in Ukraine and the Red Sea,” Marles said.
“So we are increasing funding for Australian drone and counter-drone capabilities. To make this happen, we are providing an additional $300 million over the next four years and $1.1 billion over the decade.”
However, some projects have seen funding cutbacks, including the previously announced reduction of new infantry fighting vehicles from 450 to 129 as well as redistributing $1.4 billion for upgrades to facilities in Canberra.
“Meaningful change and meaningful focus cannot happen without meaningful choices,” Marles said.
“To proceed on the basis that we can do it all, when no government has ever funded it all, is both a fantasy and dishonest.
“But most critically, a weakness in not being able to make a difficult decision fundamentally compromises strategic planning.”
Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie said the opposition would have supported an even larger increase in spending.
“If it is true that we are living in the most dangerous times since the end of the Second World War, then we need to be investing more in defence, not less,” he told reporters this afternoon.
“Weakness is provocative,” he later added.
“If you want to defend Australia, you’ve got to be strong. You’ve got to make people think twice about having a crack at Australia.”