The government will also give an extra $377 million over the next four years to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which Labor said became depleted and demotivated under the previous Coalition government.
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The government plans to spend $50 billion on defence this year, taking defence expenditure above the crucial threshold of 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) as the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine program makes its first appearance in the budget.
Defence spending is set to rise to $57.6 billion annually within four years and lift above 2.3 per cent of GDP in a decade as the government secures a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS program.
As announced following the defence strategic review, the government will spend $9 billion on the submarine program over the next four years, plus billions of dollars on long-range missiles, hardened defence infrastructure and $50,000 bonus payments to help retain Defence Force personnel.
“The Albanese government has made no secret that we are willing to make the hard decisions in order to get the best outcome for our Defence Force,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said.
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