By Professor Andrew O’Neil, Dean (Research), Griffith Business School
The 2018 Federal Budget endorses another positive year of outlays for the Defence portfolio and security more broadly. The Defence Portfolio Budget Statement confirms that the Turnbull Government has authorised growth in real terms, which equates to 1.9% of GDP.
The Abbott Government’s commitment in 2014 to endorse an expenditure target in the Defence portfolio of at least 2% of GDP per annum by 2020-21 has meant this area of the budget has effectively been ring-fenced from cuts. The ambitious strategic guidance laid out in the 2016 Defence White Paper (DWP), coupled with signs of a deteriorating security environment in Asia, has reinforced the logic of this in the eyes of senior policy makers, and it’s unlikely this would change in the event a Labor Government was elected.
“Australia currently outlays around $35 billion per year on Defence.”
As in previous years, the primary outlays
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