The defence minister, Richard Marles, has also put his department on notice that it would not be immune to the search for savings even as the government’s first budget is expected to confirm an overall increase in military spending.
After a robust internal and public debate over the past week about whether the government would amend the stage-three tax cuts in the 25 October budget, the prime minister has repeatedly hosed down expectations that the package could be tweaked this year, regardless of growing pressures on the budget.
Read more at The Guardian
