David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 21 March 2011:

(1) With reference to the Government commissioned report, 2008 Audit of the Defence Budget which identified that 'a real growth rate of 3.5 per cent in capital expenditure on SME [Specialised Military Equipment] [is required] just to replace today's equipment. To deliver the capabilities proposed in the recommended Force Structure Option requires a growth rate of 4.2 per cent': What will be the amount required to fund, in nominal dollars, the major capital equipment program each year from 2010-11 to 2029-30, so as to fund the White Paper 'Force 2030' initiatives.

(2) With reference to the report, The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence Budget Brief 2010 -11 which states, 'on the basis of long-term trends in defence costs, it is unlikely that the promised 2.2 per cent real growth post 2017-18 will be adequate to sustain let alone expand the ADF [Australian Defence Force] as planned. In other words, the plan was probably not affordable to begin with': Based on this analysis, as at 31 December 2010, how will the Government fund its Defence White Paper commitments when funding drops to 2.2 per cent real growth per annum, below that needed to sustain the ADF.