Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The enablers, the basic things that we require to do the job of Defence every day, have been quite neglected over an extended period of time, and we have made a very deliberate decision on this occasion to bring those enablers into the Integrated Investment Program because they have suffered from that underinvestment for so long. They include, for example, very significant upgrades of Defence bases and infrastructure around the country. That will have a significant regional impact in terms of jobs and local employment as those upgrades are occurring, and it will help us to support what is going to be our larger and more capable Defence Force.

We also are including $19 billion to assist in the operation and maintenance of the Defence estate. Most fundamentally, the basics like information and communications technology will be brought, hopefully, into the 21st century in many ways. It is an area that has suffered from significant underinvestment. (Time expired)