Australia’s budget list for the fiscal year of 2019/20 will also include an additional $404.36 million for the country’s national security in order to boost anti-espionage and counterterrorism operations, country’s The Weekend Australian newspaper has reported on Saturday.
According to Reuters news reports, the additional spending packages for the Australian federal police (AFP) and domestic spy agency, the Australian security intelligence organization, will fund programs like intelligence gather in conflict zones and anti-drone technology for the nation’s police.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was slated to unveil the 2019 fiscal budget on Tuesday that would likely to feature a landslide of spending in an effort to arrest the slide in popularity of his conservative government.
The 2019 budget’s delivery would be the launching pad for the country’s general election scheduled to take place in May.
Morrison said the additional funds for national security was not a step in response to Australian concerns that had let extremists slip through its net.
In televised remarks, Morrison said, “No, no. What this is is a recognition of the growing threat of extremist terrorism in so many different terms.”
The newspaper has reported that the majority of funds will be allocated to AFP. The agency was likely to receive Australian 512 dollar million hikes over the next five year in order to cope with seven-fold hike in counterterrorism operations and including an eight-fold hike in the killing of people being monitored under the security watch list.