Increasing security at parliament house in Canberra will cost $200m. An additional $88m will go towards boosting security in commonwealth parliamentary offices and enhancing the AFP’s close personal protection capacity. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Image
Spending increases have been unveiled in the mid-year economic and financial outlook, including $200m towards beefing up security at parliament house, $300m to Operation Okra and $140m to fund a rise in Australia’s humanitarian intake
The mid-year economic and financial outlook (Myefo) is not all savings measures and slashed budgets. Spending is increasing in a number of areas.
Guardian Australia looks at some of the Myefo winners.
- The government is providing an extra $650m over four years for counter-terrorism funding. Of that money, $139m will go to Asio, $107m to the Australian Secret Intelligence Services and $72.3m to the Australian federal police (AFP)
- $406m will go to the national partnership agreement between states and the commonwealth on universal access to early childhood education over four years
- Operation Okra, the military operation to stop the advancement of Isis in Iraq and Syria, will receive nearly $300m over three years
- $300m will go towards the addition of new drugs to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme over the forward estimates period
- The continuation of the national school chaplaincy program will cost the government $242m over four years
- Beefing up security at parliament house in Canberra will cost $200m over forward estimates. An additional $88m will go towards boosting security in commonwealth parliamentary offices and enhancing the AFP’s close personal protection capacity
- The government will spend $140m over two years to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake by 7,500 places. The Department of Immigration will spend $8m on its anti-people-smuggling ad campaign in just six months
- A structural adjustment fund, to help providers of higher education prepare for reforms in the sector, will cost the government $100m over three years
- The government will provide $95m over four years to implement the work-for-the-dole scheme in remote areas
- The establishment of a children’s e-safety commissioner and related statutory office will cost more than $37m over four years
- The establishment of a joint investigative task force into trade union corruption will cost the government $7m over two years
The headline on this story was amended on 16 December. Funding for the school chaplaincy program is being continued, but not increased.
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