ANU experts give their take ahead of 2017/18 federal budget

Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison will unveil the second Turnbull Government budget on 9 May. A number of ANU experts have given their opinion on the budget and its implications for Australia. DEFENCE/FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Professor Rory Medcalf, Head of National Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy "A key national security angle to watch for is how faithfully the Government adheres to its promise of a pathway to spending two per cent of GDP on Defence. This is a commitment from last year's defence White Paper but Government will need to substantially increase defence spending each year to live up to this undertaking. Amid current global uncertainty it will be important for Australia to sustain or increase its spending on intelligence capabilities." Associate Professor Stephan Frühling , ANU Strategic and Defence Studies Centre "In the 2016 Defence White Paper, the Turnbull Government set out a very detailed multi-year spending plan for the Defence budget. With an ambitious national shipbuilding program and a range of approvals of capability projects arising from the White Paper in the pipeline, Defence can little afford slippage from that growth trajectory."   - ECONOMICS/TAX.