Australian taxpayers are shelling out hundreds of millions on foreign conflicts, with a further $120 million planned to resettle migrants and refugees on Australian soil.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in his Budget on Tuesday night that more than $230 million has been pledged to support “peacekeeping activities” in foreign conflicts over the next three years.
More than half of that amount ($144 million) will go to Ukraine, including $100 million for drones, generators, inflatable boats and other military equipment and $43.5 million for short-range air defense systems.
Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February 2022 and has been trapped in an intractable war ever since.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in his budget Tuesday night that more than $230 million has been pledged to support “peacekeeping activities” in foreign conflicts over the next three years; more than half will go to Ukraine (pictured: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr). Zelensky in 2022)
In February, Anthony Albanese stated that “Australia remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion.”
“We stand with Ukraine in support of its brave people and also in defense of a fundamental principle: the right of every sovereign nation to be secure within its own borders and to determine its own future,” the Prime Minister added.
Meanwhile, a total of $13.2 million will go to the conflict between Hamas and Israel, including $12.2 million for Operation BEECH to deploy Australian Defense Force soldiers to support Australian and foreign citizens in the region.
About $1 million will be spent on 140 air delivery parachutes to Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
Closer to home, the government will spend $120.9 million over the next year to improve the settlement of migrants and refugees within Australia.
The majority of this money will go to the Humanitarian Settlement Programme, which helps those whose lives have been torn apart by war resettle and integrate in Australia.
The government will also provide nearly $3 million over two years to support people and their families in “significantly affected areas of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories” (pictured: a Palestinian child watches as people search through the rubble of a collapsed building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on May 14)
Youth services and English conversation classes will also be supported.
The government will also provide nearly $3 million over two years to support people and their families in “significantly affected areas of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
It will include $2 million for the Australian Red Cross to provide emergency financial assistance to migrants.
Another $900,000 will go toward extending Medicare eligibility through June next year for bridging visa holders arriving from affected regions of Israel and Palestine.
The government also extended its duty exemption for Ukrainian products until July 2026.
This was introduced in response to the Russian invasion of the country in February 2022. Government economists estimate it will cost around $2 million over five years in lost taxes.
Dr Chalmers said on Tuesday night that the government would spend $50.3 billion over the next decade as part of the National Defense Strategy.