SYDNEY: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) said on Monday Australian military equipment manufacturers will be offered government-backed loans as part of a A$3.8 billion ($3.1 billion) package to become one of the world’s top 10 defence exporters.
Australia said in 2016 it would boost defence spending by A$30 billion by 2021, purchasing frigates, armoured personnel carriers, strike fighter jets, drones and a fleet of new submarines — many of which would be built at home.
The defence industry has struggled to obtain finance from traditional lenders that have been unwilling to fund the arms industry, so Australia has created a A$3.8 billion loan scheme for companies seeking finance to export military equipment.
“Australia is around the 20th largest exporter. Given the size of our defence budget we should be higher up the scale than that,” Turnbull told reporters. “The goal is to get into the top 10,” he said.
Christopher Pyne, the minister for the defence industry, said Australia would target sales to the United States, Canada, Britain and New Zealand.
Australia’s annual defence budget was worth A$34.6 billion this year.
The scheme is also meant to arrest a slide in Australia’s manufacturing sector and provide some support for its economy, which has been hampered by record-low wage growth. — AFP
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