To head off a looming manpower crisis, the Australian Defence Force will pay bonuses to full-timers and highly trained reservists who can be sent to fight overseas at short notice, reports the Age.
"High-readiness" reservists will get a $5000-a-year bonus to train for 40 days. They also will be given a $2500 contribution to health costs to balance the free medical care given permanent force members.
The Government also has continued its 3 per cent-a-year additional funding for major equipment, including ships, aircraft and tanks, from 2010-11, when the present commitment runs out, to 2015-16.
With more than 2000 personnel serving overseas and warnings from defence analysts that the ADF is running out of troops, the Government will spend $1.5 billion increasing the size of the army by 1485 by 2009-10 and encouraging the soldiers it has to stay.
There will be bonuses to encourage personnel, particularly those in critical trades, to stay.
The bigger regular army will be backed by 2800 reservists with improved equipment and training to increase their readiness to fight.
Defence spending is up by $1.9 billion on last year to $19.6 billion.
Over the life of the Howard Government, defence spending has increased in real terms by 37 per cent from $10.6 billion in 1995-96.
The extra 3 per cent funding a year will help pay for major equipment, including airborne early warning and control aircraft, air warfare destroyers and giant landing ships for the navy, Abrams tanks for the army and the multi-role joint strike fighter for the RAAF.
The Government has continued its 3 per cent annual defence funding supplement from the 2010-11 year to 2015-16.
That will cost an additional $2.4 billion, taking the total extra spending to $10.7 billion.
A further $2.2 billion will buy three or four massive C-17 Globemaster III transport planes each able to carry an army tank or five armoured personnel carriers.
GengisK
