Defence Budget in Crisis

Date: 28 April 2000

Australia's national security is being compromised by a Government that is unable to effectively deal with the crisis in defence funding and a Minister who is still struggling with the Defence portfolio, Shadow Minister for Defence, Stephen Martin said today.

Mr Martin's comments follow the release of a Parliamentary Library Research Paper into the current state of the Defence Budget and the reports of highly concerning comment's made by the Secretary of Defence in a speech yesterday.

"I have been warning the Minister for Defence for the last 18months that urgent action was required and that the need for a defence white paper was long over due" Mr Martin said.

"Because of the Governments ineptness some very serious defence funding decisions will have to be made in this budget without the benefit of a broad strategic policy for the Australian Defence Organisation."

"Alternatively the Government may allow the defence budget crisis to worsen by simply taking no action to remedy the problems in this budget and the using the delay in the white paper as their excuse.

"Neither option is ideal and the Minister has no one but himself and former Liberal defence Minister McLachlan to blame for the disastrous situation. It would appear that they were both asleep at their post.

"Hopefully the Minister will soon realise that his beloved Defence Reform Program is not going to deliver all the answers to defence funding problems and may indeed create greater problems in the long term.

" What is needed is strategic and effective leadership and a Government that will set long terms plans and objectives for Defence and match it with appropriate funding.

"The Minister should stop appointing spin doctors for the Service Chiefs and start appointing people who can assist Defence deal with these severe budgetary problems" Mr Martin said.

For further information

Contact:	Matthew Cossey
Union:	ALP Federal
Phone:	0412 023 334
WWW:	http://www.alp.org.au

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