24 May 2007

Government sources

2007-08

Defence Department, Portfolio Budget Statements 2007-08

Detailed explanation of appropriations in five volumes. Background information as well as financial data. The Portfolio Budget Statements provide information, explanation and justification to enable Parliament to understand the purpose of each outcome proposed in the Bills.

Budget 2007-08 expenditure by category 

Source: Budget Overview, Budget 2007-08, Australian Government, 2007

2007-08 Budget Press Releases, Brendan Nelson, Minister for Defence, 8 May 2007

Extensive collection of accessible short releases by major topic and by impact on states and parliamentary electorates. Major topics include: Super Hornet Bridging Air Combat Capability; Intelligence and Security Initiatives; Increased Security for Defence Personnel and Facilities; Defence Invests $904.5 Million in Facilities Infrastructure.

Defence: Working to a Plan to Defend our People, Interests and Values, Media Release, Minister for Defence, 8 May 2007

Defence spending 2001 – 2016, 2007-08 Budget

Source: Chartpack, Budget Overview, Budget 2007-08, Australian Government, 2007 [Note: Zip file, 4.86 MB]

2006-07

Budget Overview 2006-7, Enhancing defence capabilities, Department of Defence, 2006

“The Government will increase defence spending by 3 per cent annually in real terms from 2011-12 to 2015-16, to provide the Australian Defence Force with a firm basis for continued long-term planning. Additional funding is also being provided to improve defence capabilities, notably for acquiring C-17 heavy airlift aircraft and enhancing the readiness and sustainability of the Army.”

Analysis

Special issue: Defence and Security Aspects of the Federal Budget 2007-08, Richard Tanter, Austral Peace and Security Net, 10 May 2007.

Your Defence Dollar: The 2006-07 Defence Budget, Mark Thompson, ASPI, 23 August 2006

“The big news in the 2006–07 Budget was that the government agreed to continue the 3% annual real growth in defence spending delivered by the 2000 White Paper to 2015–16. This amounts to an extra $10.7 billion over five years. Another $4.5 billion was provided over the next ten years for a variety of initiatives. When this new spending is added to previously planned increases, the result is a significant near-term boost to defence spending. Indeed, the defence budget for 2006–07 is $19.6 billion—an increase of $1.9 billion on last year. Continued growth is planned across the next four years, with a budget of $21.1 billion set out for 2009–10. The 2006–07 defence budget equals 1.94% of Australia’s gross domestic product. This will probably erode only a little over the next few years, given predicted economic growth.”

“Aside from the headline commitment of 3% real growth past 2010, the key initiatives in the 2006–07 defence budget were as follows.

• Four C-17 strategic lift aircraft are being bought at a cost of $2.2 billion.
• $1.5 billion over ten years has been allocated for the second phase of the Hardened and Networked Army initiative. This will see the Army restructured into combined arms battle groups and the addition of 1,485 permanent personnel.
• $625 million of previously deferred capital investment spending has been accelerated across the next four years, in recognition of the improved performance of Defence’s acquisition and materiel support agency, the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). This will hasten the delivery of the equipment projects set out in the government’s decadelong Defence Capability Plan (DCP).
• $623 million over four years for overseas deployments, including $393 million to continue operations in Iraq for another twelve months, and $233 million for our continuing role in Afghanistan for two years.
• $560 million over the next ten years will be spent on better remuneration for the active and high-readiness Reserve. Incentives include additional allowances, health benefits and annual completion bonuses.
• $342 million over ten years will be spent on a range of measures, including the redevelopment of the Mulwala munitions plant ($131 million), defence communications ($80 million), logistical funding for naval aviation ($26 million) and charting of our northern waters ($19 million). In addition, $213 million of investment funds earmarked for the new Joint Operations Command Headquarters has been handed back because the project will now be pursued as a private finance initiative.
• $252 million over ten years has been provided to reactivate and operate the two minehunting vessels withdrawn from service by the 2003 Defence Capability Review. The two vessels will now conduct coastal surveillance in the north.”

“This section [6] includes an explanation of how Defence is funded for deployments, updated tables of historical deployment costs, a summary of the cost of the Iraq and other recent operations, and an assessment of the impact on peacetime rates-of-effort of recent operations.”

Your Defence Dollar: The 2004–05 Defence Budget, Mark Thomson, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, July 2004

Source: Mark Thomson, Your Defence Dollar: The 2004–05 Defence Budget, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, July 2004

See also

• ADF budget – Afghanistan, Australia in Afghanistan
• Australian intelligence organisations, Australian Forces Abroad