Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the Australian government is committed to assessing its defense capability needs before finalizing military spending. He highlighted ongoing increases in defense budget, targeting 2.3% of GDP by 2033, amidst competing budget demands due to natural disasters. U.S. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth has urged Australia to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP, which would entail an additional $25 billion annually. Critics argue Australia already spends excessively on defense and would rank highly among global military expenditures if these targets are met.
What you should do in defence is decide what you need, your capability, and then provide for it, Albanese told reporters.
We're continuing to lift up, he said, citing his government's goal to increase spending to 2.3 percent of GDP by 2033.
Were Australia to increase its defence spending to 2.3% of GDP, we would be the ninth biggest spender on defence and the military, Grudnoff said.
Public broadcaster ABC reported that increasing military spending to 3.5 percent of GDP would cost 100 billion Australian dollars annually.
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