Australian defence White Paper to bolster country's maritime presence

摘要

Australia's defence budgets and capabilities seem set to surge in coming years, with the focus placed squarely on maritime capabilities in a long-awaited Defence White Paper. Launched by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Defence Minister Marise Payne in Canberra on 25 February, the White Paper was originally to have been produced within 18 months of then prime minister Tony Abbott's election in September 2013 but was delayed by ministerial changes and Abbott's replacement by Turnbull as Liberal Party leader in September 2015. While the 2015 budget of AUD32.1 billion (USD21 billion) represented a 4.2% real year-on-year increase, the White Paper outlines additional unanticipated defence spending of AUD29.9 billion between 2016-17 and 2025-26. This follows a government White Paper commitment that under current projections the defence budget would reach AUD42.4 billion, or 2% of GDP, by 2020-21: three years earlier than promised.