Defence: White Paper

Senator Chris Evans asked the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 26 April 2002:

With reference to page 19 of the 2001-02 Defence portfolio budget statement, which includes funding for the implementation of the White Paper for the financial years 2001-02 to 2004-05:

1. Are those figures still current; if not, what are the current estimates of the funding that will be provided to implement the White Paper for those four financial years.
2. Can a detailed breakdown be provided for this funding for the current financial year, i.e. for the $507 million allocated to the White Paper, indicating specifically what projects have been funded and the amount funded.
3. Can a similar detailed breakdown be provided for the White Paper funding for: (a) the 2002-03 financial year; (b) the 2003-04 financial year; and (c) the 2004-05 financial year.
4. (a) Were the capital projects funded under the White Paper already funded in the 2000-01 budget out years; and (b) was this funding reallocated; if so, to what was it reallocated.

Senator Hill - The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

1. The Defence White Paper funding allocation represented by the figures in Table 1.5 of the 2001-02 Portfolio Budget Statements is still current, however the figures have been updated to reflect movements in price and exchange.
2. Detailed spend spreads are not made publicly available for projects that are yet to go to contract. This policy reflects the commercial sensitivities of contract negotiation processes. Major capital equipment projects approved in the 2001-02 budget are listed on page 80 of the Portfolio Budget Statements 2001-02. Major capital equipment projects approved subsequent to the 2001-02 Budget are listed on page 59 of the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2001-02.
3. No - see above. A list of new major equipment projects that are planned for approval in 2002-03 is included on pages 75-76 of the Portfolio Budget Statements 2002-03. Projects planned for approval in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 are also discussed in the Defence Capability Plan 2001-2010 Public Version.
4. (a) and (b) While many of the projects in the Defence Capability Plan were previously planned for inclusion in the Defence capital budget, the level of capital funding anticipated in the 2000-01 Budget (prior to the White Paper) could not have been sustained without the increase in funding provided by the White Paper. In some cases, the level of capability that could have been acquired under pre-White Paper funding levels would have been lower than is now affordable in the Defence Capability Plan over the same period.

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