Cutting the Australian Defence Budget

I have again, been looking through the Australian Defence budget.

Which programs and existing budget line items do you think need to be eliminated in order to spend less in the federal budget?

Certainly in the non-Defence areas of the budget there are programs that can be scaled back and/or eliminated, but we will just look at Defence.

The following are some of my thoughts.

Eliminate the faith-based meme that somehow we must spend 2 percent of the gross national product (GDP) on Defence. Without a solid process in place to spend our money wisely, giving the same bad actors more money is just bad thinking.

Keep flag ranks below 30. We do not need 170 flag ranks to lead such a small military. This includes all of their perks.

Eliminate the ARH-Tiger and MRH-90 helicopters. They are unworthy programs for all of their trouble. We need good helicopters. Not make-work programs that line the pockets of a select few.

Eliminate the M-1 tank. For all the reasons I have stated before. If tanks are so important, get some advice from Canada.

Eliminate the F-35 program. For all the reasons stated. Have an open competition with a non-rigged requirement for existing technology fighter aircraft currently in production. Note that this will only save some money and give us some reasonable capability. It will not be a total solution toward maintaining air superiority in our area of interest. Until a new fighter is back in production based on the F-22 requirement our best effort is to build 3-4 new, military-only airfields with plenty of space for deployed U.S. tankers, F-22s, long range bombers and so on. That is not a perfect fix but it is one that is available until there is a better way ahead.

Stop all operations in the Middle East and southwest Asia. We have a small military that is best used to train so as to be prepared for operations in our own back yard. Every dollar set toward operations on the other side of the planet takes away from needed, regional combat readiness. This is a zero-sum game.

Defence has to end the era of spendthrift behaviour and being the guardian of really bad ideas. Historically, the taxpayer has been more than generous. Lack of money is not the real problem of Defence.

That is not my total list. Please put down in the comments what you recommend.


---

Australian Defence Reading List

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."

-Mark Twain

-Defence may want to waste money on more defective M-1 tanks.
-Collins sub replacement appears to be a rigged game
-New Defence White Paper fails to address Australia's core security needs
-2009 Defence White Paper Fantasy
-Analysing "The ADF Air Combat Capability- On the Record"
-Find out who is responsible for the Air Warfare Destroyer mess
-Analysis of Defence Materiel Organisation Major Projects Management and What Needs to be Fixed
-New DMO Boss warns the staff that business as usual is over
-How dangerous is the Defence Material Organisation to our Defence Industry?
-Australia's Failing Defence Structure and Management Methodology
-More on the dud-jamming gear Defence wants to buy
-ADF cost per flying hour
-I will wipe out bullying vows new Defence chief (Houston 2005)
-Vacancy
-Put Vol 2 Report of DLA Piper Review into the light of day
-Rory and Jim
-Parasitism as an Abstraction for Organizational Dysfunctions
-Hobart-class "Air Warfare Destroyer" to be fielded with obsolete radar guidance technology
-The Decay Of Critical Military Thinking And Writing-With Particular Reference To The RAAF
-The great M-1 tank myth
-*UPDATE* Fear and loathing in Canberra - Audit released on MRH-90 helicopter project 
-RAN bullies contractor over Collins sub replacement
-2014-15 ADF budget shocker - Star-ranks
-Air Warfare Destroyer -- Billions, not millions over budget
-Australia's M-1 tanks are... a downgrade compared to what it had
-Weak links put on rubber-stamp Defence panel
-Insert Joke Here
-Tyranny of distance--Long, drawn out helicopter projects are unsustainable
-2014-15 ADF budget shocker - cost per flying hour over the last budget year
-Tiger savaged by Navy League of Australia
-Tiger helicopter update
-PDF file - Exploring the Impacts of the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012
-Dangerous minds: Are maths teachers Australia's newest threat?
-Government ignores its own 'rescue' report created to fix Air Warfare Destroyer woes
-DM Johnston fired in cabinet reshuffle

---


.