Page 44 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2022

44 BUDGET 2022 FUTURE DEFENCE BUDGET
JUNE 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
are divided up between the local branches of the primes and SMEs, but there’s good evidence to suggest they are flowing down to the SMEs.
Indeed, based on the DSU funding model, over $10 bil- lion in acquisition funding could be spent locally by the end of the decade. When we add to that a lo-
cal sustainment spend of over $13 billion,
But perhaps a more important question is whether it is the right level of funding in the first place. It’s important to remember that the current funding line is still the same as what was set out in the 2016 White Paper. The world and our region have changed dramatically since then. China
Australian defence industry could be close to a $25 billion a year enterprise by 2030. Of course, we can argue about wheth-
“AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY COULD BE CLOSE TO A $25 BILLION A YEAR ENTERPRISE BY 2030”
was only starting its de facto annexation of the South China Sea and militarisa- tion of features there when the White Paper was being developed in 2015. Since then, we’ve also seen the imposition of CCP rule and repression in Hong Kong, internment of millions of Uighurs and ex- tended campaigns of economic coercions against countries that merely question
er the coalition government was spend-
ing those dollars on the right things and
how well the acquisition program was
going. Many have concerns about the
relevance of the megaprojects’ delivery timelines in an era when we no longer have warning time. And the ex- penditure on the Attack class submarine — potentially reaching $3.5 billion before it’s all done and dusted — is a lamentable waste of public funds.
these actions, further revealing the CCP’s true colours. China’s economic, political and military influence in Aus- tralia’s near region is growing rapidly, potentially result- ing in a permanent military presence. Russia’s illegal and completely unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine shows that authoritarian states will continue to use armed force to achieve their ends, even if many in the West had come to consider war to be unthinkable.
The DSU funding line represents a number slightly higher than two per cent of GDP. That number has become a benchmark for many countries such as the members of
ABOVE: The cancellation of the Attack-class submarine program for a nuclear-powered boat such as the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarine could cost taxpayers up to $3.5 billion.
FUTURE DEFENCE SPENDING
But the bottom line is that the last nine years of defence spending have allowed Australia to develop its military and industrial capability, putting us in a more robust and re- silient position heading into an era of increasing strategic competition and uncertainty.
Will that funding continue? Certainly, when it was in opposition and during the election campaign, the Labor party supported the level of funding in the DSU, saying it was committed to the $270 billion in new capability in that plan.
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