Despite promises to remove “some” troops from Iraq, new Aussie PM Kevin Rudd says that defense procurement plans will remain on track.
Few major defense-policy changes are expected in the wake of the Nov. 24 general election that brought to power Australia’s new prime minister, Kevin Rudd. Rudd reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to the U.S.-Australia alliance and has promised to maintain Canberra’s 22 billion Australian dollar ($19.3 billion) defense budget, and to honor predecessor John Howard’s pledge to increase that by 3 percent each year in real terms, until at least 2016. The only significant differences between Rudd and Howard are Rudd’s commitment to withdraw some Australian troops from Iraq. There should be “a very smooth transition” to the new administration, according to analyst Mark Thomson of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra. He said new Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will likely honor the major procurement and force development programs put in place by the previous government, such as the Hardened and Networked Army initiative and the choice of new Air Warfare Destroyers and amphibious landing ships for the Navy. “The big force structure stuff, absent a complete change of heart, is done,” Thomson said. “Labor just has to pay for it.” Under Australia’s two-pass procurement process, he said, several major programs initiated by Howard’s Liberal-National Coalition government, including the 15 billion Australian dollar purchase of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and new manned and unmanned maritime patrol aircraft worth 6 billion Australian dollars, will reach key Cabinet approval milestones next year.
Rudd has gone to great lengths to appear strong on defense, without compromising his opposition to the war in Iraq. If Australia does end up pulling their contingent of combat troops from southern Iraq, there’s an excellent chance that Rudd will send them to Afghanistan. That’s not a bad trade off, all things considered.
