Episode 135
from Asia Pacific Defence Reporter
Last week saw the release of both the National Defence Strategy and the associated Integrated Investment Plan. Rather than squabbling over the amount - there is a genuine, if small, increase in funding - people should be asking how much additional capability will this buy. The answer is, probably not enough, though more on drones is undoubtedly a good thing. Speaking at the National Press Club, Defence Minister Richard Marles proved again how out of touch he is by claiming that the US is still a dependable ally and that the international rules based order is still in place when clearly it is not. People can see this daily with their own eyes. He also repeated the falsehood that the government is spending record amounts on Defence. This is untrue. We are currently at 2.08% of GDP. In 1981-82 the fraction of GDP was 2.4% rising to 2.6% three years later. During the Vietnam War it was over 3%. Can people please start holding Ministers to account for this absolute, provable, factually incorrect nonsense.
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