Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

With respect to the ASPI's detail book and in terms of the Defence budget and the white paper: as you are aware, ASPI has concluded that the federal government has a $33 billion shortfall in its funding for the 2013 white paper. It says:

… in absolute terms funding remains well below what was promised back in 2009. Yet plans for the ADF remain as ambitious as ever.

ASPI also reports that:

Consistent with this, the share of GDP will remain below 1.7% for the next decade.

How exactly does your government expect to afford the equipment procurement set out in the white paper when the budget is continuing to be cut? Also, ASPI has belled the cat: will you now confirm that your goal of returning defence spending to two per cent of GDP is rhetorical, since it is clear from ASPI's analysis that, at best, you will only seek to reach 1.7 per cent of GDP over the next 10 years?

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