Defence projects ‘billions over budget, decades late’

Major Australian defence projects with approved budgets totalling more than A$70 billion (HK$347 billion) are overbudget and cumulatively decades late, the government said yesterday, amid China’s plans to increase its influence in the Pacific.

At least 28 defence projects were collectively 97 years late, including a A$44 billion antisubmarine frigate programme and purchases of 12 offshore patrol vessels and a digital battlefield command system, Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

“All of this has occurred at a time when our strategic circumstances are very complex and extremely challenging,” Marles said.

The minister also warned that the nation faced its “most challenging circumstances” since World War II.

Marles pledged more transparency over defence acquisitions, including monthly reports on delayed projects and creating an independent regulator inside the defence department.

“This is a real challenge now for the incoming government to get this back on track,” Marles said, as he blamed the previous conservative government for leaving him “a complete mess”.

He said Australia’s defence spend would grow from current levels of about 2.11 per cent of GDP over the medium term, two weeks ahead of the Labor government’s first budget.

“Given the current strategic circumstances we face, we need to be better focused on the quality of the spend within defence to ensure we are providing our Australian Defence Forces personnel with the best capability,” Marles said.

China’s plans to set up a presence in the Pacific, including entering a security pact with the Solomon Islands, have raised concerns in the United States and Australia, who have for decades seen the region as largely their sphere of influence.

Tensions between Canberra and Beijing have rapidly escalated in recent years, leading to military encounters between Australian and Chinese armed forces in the South China Sea and off Australia’s coastline.

The Australian military has repeatedly run into difficulties over its plans to purchase and maintain hardware.

Problems with a fleet of MRH90 Taipan helicopters led Australia to request 40 Black Hawk helicopters from the US government to replace them, at an estimated cost of US$1.95 billion.

While the sale was approved by the State Department in August, Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp yesterday that the government was still deciding whether to go ahead with the purchase.

Australia’s defence spending is expected to swell further, with the Aukus nuclear submarine pact and an announced rapid expansion of military personnel yet to be factored into expenditure.