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@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo I understand that, but the question is if "The Enemy" invaded Ireland would we all just do nothing because they clearly aren't spending much.
No, because they're Irish.
I guess it just annoys me that we spend so much on "Securing our future" when the likelihood of all-out war must be very slim. China seems to be taking over the world with their economy not their tanks.
Australia spends so much because we have this fascination with local jobs. I.e. pork barrelling shit electorates like South Australia. As a result we pay a premium to get a worse product.
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@antipodean said in Aussie Politics:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo I understand that, but the question is if "The Enemy" invaded Ireland would we all just do nothing because they clearly aren't spending much.
No, because they're Irish.
I guess it just annoys me that we spend so much on "Securing our future" when the likelihood of all-out war must be very slim. China seems to be taking over the world with their economy not their tanks.
Australia spends so much because we have this fascination with local jobs. I.e. pork barrelling shit electorates like South Australia. As a result we pay a premium to get a worse product.
oh fucking don't get me started on this particular topic...
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@hooroo Can we ever be prepared though, can we ever spend "enough", if China did invade Australia, I don't think it would matter if we spent 1% or 10% of GDP. I just wonder if we were like Ireland and reinvested 1.7% of our GDP into infrastructure, green energy, health, education etc it would benefit far more people.
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo Can we ever be prepared though, can we ever spend "enough", if China did invade Australia, I don't think it would matter if we spent 1% or 10% of GDP. I just wonder if we were like Ireland and reinvested 1.7% of our GDP into infrastructure, green energy, health, education etc it would benefit far more people.
Being prepared is being prepared enough to support our allies
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@hooroo said in Aussie Politics:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo Can we ever be prepared though, can we ever spend "enough", if China did invade Australia, I don't think it would matter if we spent 1% or 10% of GDP. I just wonder if we were like Ireland and reinvested 1.7% of our GDP into infrastructure, green energy, health, education etc it would benefit far more people.
Being prepared is being prepared enough to support our allies
What does "prepared" mean though, sounds very ambiguous to me. 90 billion for submarines is something I just don't get.
I guess I am just sad at humanity that we can't as humans get along and instead need to build up these huge armies and posture with each other.
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo said in Aussie Politics:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo Can we ever be prepared though, can we ever spend "enough", if China did invade Australia, I don't think it would matter if we spent 1% or 10% of GDP. I just wonder if we were like Ireland and reinvested 1.7% of our GDP into infrastructure, green energy, health, education etc it would benefit far more people.
Being prepared is being prepared enough to support our allies
What does "prepared" mean though, sounds very ambiguous to me. 90 billion for submarines is something I just don't get.
I guess I am just sad at humanity that we can't as humans get along and instead need to build up these huge armies and posture with each other.
I don't have the answer to that.
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo said in Aussie Politics:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@hooroo Can we ever be prepared though, can we ever spend "enough", if China did invade Australia, I don't think it would matter if we spent 1% or 10% of GDP. I just wonder if we were like Ireland and reinvested 1.7% of our GDP into infrastructure, green energy, health, education etc it would benefit far more people.
Being prepared is being prepared enough to support our allies
What does "prepared" mean though, sounds very ambiguous to me. 90 billion for submarines is something I just don't get.
The only people who think that's great are the French.
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@antipodean is the french contract going to be cancelled as its a decade late?
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@kiwiwomble said in Aussie Politics:
@pepe i do wonder about who negotiates these contracts, if were late in the construction industry we have huge penalties...these should be free by now!
The French sent competent negotiators.
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lol. NSFW.
So there is a ... well, let's say "a person" here who goes by the title of friendlyjordies, who is either a divisive little dickhead or a funny as fuck depending on who you are, but also what mood you're in.
Anyway, it seems that Waste of Oxygen Craig Kelly MP (formerly a lib, then independent, now fluffing Clive Palmer) didn't renew his domain name. So...
"Craig forgot to renew his fucking lease. Suck shit fluffybunny."
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@antipodean said in Aussie Politics:
@kiwiwomble said in Aussie Politics:
@pepe i do wonder about who negotiates these contracts, if were late in the construction industry we have huge penalties...these should be free by now!
The French sent competent negotiators.
hmmm Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur?
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@kiwiwomble said in Aussie Politics:
@pepe i do wonder about who negotiates these contracts, if were late in the construction industry we have huge penalties...these should be free by now!
followed by a 5yr court case
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
@antipodean said in Aussie Politics:
@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
I wish I understood defence spending and why it's necessary for the world to continually use enormous resources to continually compete with one another. Does Australia need a submarine fleet? I guess it just annoys me that the billions and billions spent on defence around the world could be used in far better ways.
Two reasons:
- We're an island, and
- Antipodean needs a job.
Out of interest below is the military spending from some other island nations. I am surprised Japan which has a sordid history with China doesn't spend more. And nations like Ireland have drastically reduced their spend from around 1.7% of GDP down to 0.3%. I am kind of surprised NZ spends as much as they do. Perhaps we deem the threat higher so need to spend more. I just wonder if it really matters how much we spend in relation to the risk of being invaded by "The Enemy"
Per capita spend on Military ($USD)
Australia $1079
New Zealand $624
Japan $388
Ireland $231Share of GDP
Australia 2.1%
New Zealand 1.5%
Japan 1.0%
Ireland 0.3%NZ spend would be a lot on support in times of need, disaster relief, helping our Pacific neighbours etc and we did have a commitment in Afghanistan until recently so that 1.5 might comedown a bit next year
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@chimoaus said in Aussie Politics:
spend on Military ($USD)
Australia $1079
New Zealand $624
Japan $388
Ireland $231Share of GDP
Australia 2.1%
New Zealand 1.5%
Japan 1.0%
Ireland 0.3%One of these things is not like the others...
Try per acre of land mass or kilometre of coastline.
Australia is only 20 times larger than Japan and 110 times larger than Ireland (who also share a land border with an ally).
Aussie Politics