By 10 Mei 2017
Budget projections show spending reaching 2% of GDP (photo : Adelaide Now)
Australia will increase defence expenditure by 8.3% in 2017-18, with funding rising by AUD2.7 billion to AUD35.2 billion (USD25.9 billion). Budget projections show spending reaching 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020-21, in line with commitments made in the country’s 2016 Defence White Paper.
Forward estimates show spending rising to AUD36.5 billion in 2018-19, AUD39.2 billion in 2019-20, and finally to AUD42.6 billion in 2020-21. Spending projections for the four years between 2017-18 and 2020-21 show defence will receive a total of AUD153.5 billion, broadly in line with previous estimates. Budgetary documents also show that actual spending for 2016-17 is now expected to amount to AUD32.5 billion, around AUD403 million lower than the allocated budget.
(Jane’s)
