Australia Must Choose Defense or Social Spending, Rabobank Says
Australia confronts a 'guns or butter' choice between a bigger defense budget and expanding national disability insurance and other social programs, according to Rabobank, which calls for economic statecraft to navigate a risky regional security environment.
For now, the government is opting for 'butter,' but it retains substantial fiscal headroom to bolster military spending when compared to peer economies, Rabobank economist Benjamin Picton said in a research note on Tuesday. The nation's debt is lower than that of counterparts as a share of its gross domestic product.
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