Key spending obscured
This week’s Budget includes significant secret spending.
The Federal Budget includes a number of undisclosed expenses in its fine print.
The secret spending measures include the cost of building a new shipyard and providing knowledge for the AUKUS deal, which will allow Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines.
The government will also purchase CEA Technologies Pty Ltd, a company that can deliver electronic warfare range design activities and domestically developed radars.
Additionally, the Budget provides funding for the national self-exclusion register, BetStop, and modernising the Australian Electoral Commission's IT systems. However, due to “commercial sensitivities”, the cost of these measures is being kept secret.
The Budget also includes undisclosed expenses for international lawsuits and Australia's participation in a number of international legal actions.
Moreover, the cost of supporting “regional processing arrangements” in Nauru and the class action brought on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who worked in the Northern Territory between 1933 and 1971 appears to be unquantifiable.
The government has allocated funds to strengthen international engagement and preserve Australia's influence in key regional and economic forums, such as the G7, G20, and ASEAN. Additionally, there is undisclosed funding for dealing with natural disasters.
More details are accessible here.