Good Things Don’t Always Come to Those Who Wait

Commentary If high-sounding rhetoric and promises of significant expenditure in a decade are enough to boost Australia’s defences and deter our adversaries, the latest announcement by the Albanese government might be judged favourably. But they are not; which signifies the failure of the announcement by Defence Minister Richard Marles. Consider what Mr. Marles announced: $330 billion defence investment program that will lift spending to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2034; An additional $50 billion over the next decade, and $5.7 billion over the forward estimates (the next four years) to modernise the Australian Defence Force with new missiles, drones, ships, and aerial defence systems; and $22.5 billion of “reprioritisation” (that is, cuts) over the next four years, and $72.8 billion over a decade, representing cuts to existing Defence programs to fund new capabilities. This is claimed to deliver $63 billion to $76 billion for undersea warfare including nuclear-powered submarines and underwater drones, $51 billion to $69 billion for new surface ships, $16 billion to $21 billion for guided weapons, and $14 billion to $18 billion for missile defence....