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Budget: armed forces spending increase
Budget: armed forces spending increase
20 May 2011
This year's budget for the armed forces (excluding veteran's affairs) has increased by $78,861,000 when compared with last year's allocation. Given the government's repeated statement that there is no new money in the budget, it would be interesting to know what socially useful area/s of funding this was taken from.
The total military budget for the 2011 / 2012 financial year is $3,170,095,000 - allocated to Vote Defence Force and Vote Defence as follows:
Vote Defence Force: total expenditure is $2,911,137,000. This includes:
• just over $2,195 million on the navy, army and air
force "to provide the Government with a range of military
forces to protect and advance the security and interests of
New Zealand";
• $74,915,000 for Special Operations
Forces;
• $70,541,000 for Operationally Deployed
Forces carrying out "military tasks" overseas;
• $6,454,00 for military museums; and
• $2,790,000 for the provision of training, technical
advice and resource support to the defence forces of Mutual
Assistance Programme partner countries (Brunei, Cook
Islands, Malaysia, Nuie, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Thailand, Tonga, Western Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands
and Vanuatu - some of which, it should be noted, do not have
defence forces);
•
For those of you concerned
about the increasing level of militarisation of children and
young persons and their education, $12,444,000 has been
allocated for "government initiated youth development
schemes in New Zealand" and $3,559,000 for the NZ Cadet
Forces - http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2011/estimates/est11deffor.pdf
Vote Defence: total expenditure is $258,958,000. This includes:
• $244,284,000 for "the purchase,
modification, or refurbishment of major items of defence
equipment for the New Zealand Defence Force"; and
• $6,019,000 for "managing procurement or
refurbishment, on behalf of the Crown, of various items of
equipment contributing to a capability of the New Zealand
Defence Force." - http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2011/estimates/est11defen.pdf
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