The Wire

As Treasurer Joe Hockey addresses the nation about next month’s budget, warning of the need to cut government spending and reduce debt, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has committed the country to spending $12.4 billion on new war planes. The decision to buy 58 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters is not only attracting criticism because of the cost; other concerns include the F-35’s track record of technical and mechanical failures and whether we need these planes at all.

As peace activists gather in Canberra for a national convergence, they are calling on the federal government to abandon spending on machinery of war, and direct the funds to health, education and welfare.