Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The commitment made in the white paper was to funding of three per cent real growth to 2017-18, and 2.2 per cent commitment was an average to take into account Defence's annual funding needs, which vary from year to year. The government will continue to ensure that Defence will receive the funding it needs, when it needs it, to deliver its projects. However, it is not always possible for Defence to spend the money it has estimated it needs for various reasons. For example, in the 2011-12 budget, Defence reduced its call on the budget by $1.6 billion in 2010-11 and $2.7 billion over the next four years. Second, the reprogramming was necessary to reflect realistic achievement of project delivery by industry for capability and infrastructure projects. It also accommodated anticipated delays— (Time expired)