Figures released on December 28 by the Australian National Audit Office revealed the Australian Defence Force has spent $10.3 billion on weapons and military equipment from the United States in the past four years. The report estimated about half the money was spent supporting Australian Defence Force activity in Syria and Iraq in that four-year period.
This spending will continue and likely double over the next decade. But it has been shown that money spent on overseas aid and education delivers more benefit in terms of reduced strategic risk than an equal amount of defence spending.
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