Michael Sukkar MP

Defence Budget Delivers For Deakin

The Abbott Government is delivering on its commitment to build a stronger Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Michael Sukkar, Member for Deakin, said the Budget has put an end to the previous government’s reckless cuts to defence and ensures that our servicemen and women from Deakin have the resources they need to keep Australia secure.

“The Abbott Government has delivered on our promise of no further cuts to the Defence Budget and reaffirmed its commitment to growing the Defence budget to two per cent of GDP within a decade,” Mr Sukkar said.

“This will provide Defence with a stable and sustainable funding growth path, fixing the mess left by Labor, which never owned up to the unbridgeable gap between its Defence promises and its unwillingness to pay for them.”

The Abbott Government is honouring its commitment to deliver a new indexation of the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits (DFRB) and Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits (DFRDB) superannuation schemes.

Mr Sukkar said young people living in Deakin will now be able experience a year in the Army, Navy or Air Force thanks to the re-introduction of the hugely successful ADF Gap Year program.

“This program was scrapped by Labor but we will now deliver an average of 1,000 places per year for young people who are interested in joining the ADF but want to have the opportunity to try it out before making a longer commitment,” he said.

The Abbott Government has already approved the purchase of the Joint Strike Fighter, P8-A Maritime Patrol Aircraft and the Triton Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

“There is a lot of work to be done to repair the damage caused by Labor’s six years of cuts and mismanagement if Defence, but this lays the path,” Mr Sukkar said

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