Budget 2017: Defence to add more than 1000 full-time civilian workers

The increase in full-time staff will be delivered by reducing the department’s reliance on consultants and contractors.

Defence will increase its full-time civilian workforce by more than 1000 employees over the forward estimates in a bid to better deliver the capability upgrade foreshadowed in the 2016 Defence white paper.

The increase in full-time staff will be delivered by reducing the department’s reliance on consultants and contractors — an initiative expected to claw back hundreds of millions in savings and reverse a trend that led to the departure of about 4000 public servants between 2012 and 2015.

The Australian also understands the government has resisted pressure to cut the defence budget over the coming decade after the white paper established a 10-year budget model that would see expenditure reaching 2 per cent of GDP by 2020-21.

The 2016-17 defence portfolio budget statement revealed the number of contractors rose by about 22 per cent on the 2015-16 year — lifting from 401 to 490. This compares with a backwards trend for public servants after civilian employees were cut from 18,501 to 18,440 in the same period.

In last year’s budget, the number of public servants in defence was forecast to receive only a small lift over the forward estimates from 18,440 workers in 2016-17 to 18,694 by 2019-20. The budget ­papers today are expected to see an expansion on this increase.

Leading defence economist Mark Thomson from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute ­argues the budget will test whether the government still remains committed to the 10-year budget model set out in the 2016 Defence white paper and the target of lifting defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP. Keeping to the 10-year spending timeline would require the government to ensure defence spending of $34.2bn over the 2017-18 financial year.

Australia’s national security received a pre-budget boost yesterday after Malcolm Turnbull confirmed that a $321 million package would be delivered over four years to boost the Australian Federal Police.

The additional funding will go towards an extra 100 intelligence experts, more than 100 tactical ­response and covert surveillance operators as well as almost 100 ­additional forensic specialists to advance the fight against terrorism.

But the plan to divert foreign aid funds to help deliver the leg-up to the AFP was attacked by Bill Shorten as a case of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” and further evidence that Mr Turnbull was pursuing “all the wrong priorities”.

“There’s good measures to improve our national security, we are all up for that,” the Opposition Leader said. “But why does it have to be a part of foreign aid which suffers?”

Mr Turnbull brushed aside questions on whether the extra funding would come at the expense of the foreign aid budget.

World Vision spokesman Tim Costello warned the government against funding the AFP through cuts to the Australian aid program, laying the blame with Julie Bishop.

“If this goes ahead, this is yet another example ... of the Foreign Minister not protecting her own budget,” he said. “If you aren’t stepping up with development dollars you are not taken seriously.”