The 2021–22 budget was a ‘no surprises’ one for Defence. The government set out its plan in the 2016 white paper, reaffirmed it in last year’s defence strategic update and is now providing Defence with the funding it promised to deliver the plan. The size of the budget is as expected and that’s good news, but it’s how it can be spent to acquire more offensive firepower well before the 2030s that matters most. The budget tells us little new here.
Because defence ministers no longer state the size of the defence budget in their budget night media release, here it is: $44.6 billion. You can find it in Table 4a in Defence’s portfolio budget statements. That’s the consolidated number for the Department of Defence ($43,560.7 million) and the Australian Signals Directorate ($1,057.9 million). That’s an increase on 2020–21 of 6.1% in nominal terms and 4.1% in real terms...MORE
