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National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Jesse Kline: Carney can't fix the military by meeting NATO's 5% target alone
Article content During the election, Carney presented himself as a serious man coming in to clean up the mess left behind by the child we put in charge of the country for the past decade. Yet he has fallen into the typical Canadian trap of handing out goodies to the electorate without any means to pay for them and committing to international targets we have little hope of realizing. Article content There is, of course, the possibility that NATO members agreed to the five per cent target as a means of appeasing U.S. President Donald Trump, knowing full well that he will likely (this is Trump, after all) no longer be in office when they all break their promises 10 years from now. Article content But if, for the sake of argument, we were to reach that target, our defence budget would have to increase to a whopping $151.7 billion by 2035. Before we embark on such a costly excursion, it would be prudent to ask whether that level of spending is necessary to achieve our goals, or if we'll simply be flushing money down the proverbial toilet. Article content In this, the United States should serve as a case study on why not to spend money for spending's sake. Indeed, despite being the world's foremost military power — paying more for defence than the next nine highest-spending countries combined — the U.S. defence budget currently represents just 3.38 per cent of its gross domestic product. Article content Even at current levels, the Department of Defence admitted in a 2017 report that it had '19 per cent excess capacity.' And large swaths of that money gets wasted, including by purchasing equipment that is completely unnecessary. Article content As a feature published in Reason magazine earlier this year details, the U.S. military has a history of losing track of military equipment or allowing it to fall into disrepair. It also has a long track record of treating defence procurement as a make-work project. Article content In the early 2000s, for example, the U.S. Navy began designing new littoral combat ships, but they were such a failure, they ended up being nicknamed the 'Little Crappy Ship.' In 2017, the navy was already planning to replace them by 2020 but nevertheless made a budget request for one additional vessel, for the sole purpose of keeping the shipyards that produce them in business. Article content But even that wasn't enough for the Trump administration: even though the navy admitted it didn't actually want the ships, the White House altered its budget to include two vessels, at a cost of US$500 million a pop. Article content And the profligate spending continues: a press release issued by the U.S. Senate committee on appropriations last year bragged that lawmakers were allocating US$3 billion more for aviation procurement and an additional US$732 million for shipbuilding than the military had requested. Article content It's very likely that the U.S. could cut its defence budget in half and still fend off any challenges from adversaries like China or Russia, which spend a fraction of the money Americans are forced to pay. Article content Such is the peril of focusing solely on total spending, in absolute dollars or as a percentage of GDP, rather than taking the time to figure out exactly what the military needs to meet its objectives, and coming up with a concrete strategy to procure the necessary supplies. Article content When Carney announced the increase in defence spending earlier this month, he said that, 'Our goal is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants.' Let's hope he remembers that in the future. Article content Article content
Irish Times
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Navy ship remains non-operational 15 months after acquisition
One of two naval ships acquired from New Zealand for €26 million remains non-operational over a year after arriving in Ireland. The LÉ Gobnait and the LÉ Aoibhinn were purchased second hand in 2023 from the Royal New Zealand Navy before going through a year-long process to make them suitable for use by the Irish Naval Service. The ships arrived in Ireland in March 2024 before being commissioned in September and named after female mythological figures. At the time, the Department of Defence said the acquisition represented a rejuvenation and expansion of the Irish naval fleet which would help bolster recruitment. READ MORE [ Naval Service sending out just one patrol a day to monitor Irish waters Opens in new window ] The ships, which each have a crew of 20 and are lightly armed, are significantly smaller than other vessels in the fleet. Their small crew requirements were one of the key reasons behind their purchase due to the manpower crisis affecting the Defence Forces and the Naval Service in particular. However, 15 months after arriving in Ireland, the LÉ Gobnait has yet to be deployed in an operational role in Irish waters and, like much of the rest of the naval fleet, remains tied up in Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork. Military sources said there are not enough personnel available to put the Gobnait to sea. The vessel also requires the installation of further equipment to make it operational. Sources said it will be at least another three months before it can enter active service. The Gobnait and Aoibhinn are inshore patrol vessels designed to operate near the Irish coast. Their primary function is fishery protection, but they can also take on other maritime security roles, including surveillance of suspicious vessels. It is expected the ships will eventually operate out of a proposed naval base in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin and will mainly patrol the east coast. The Government is currently in talks to secure short-term berthing facilities in Dún Laoghaire for the next five years. The Naval Service has been ordered to prepare a business case for the construction of a permanent base in Dún Laoghaire or elsewhere on the east coast. In theory, two of the Naval Service's eight vessels are supposed to be at sea at any one time. However, staffing issues mean this has not always been possible in the last year. There are currently 745 naval personnel, including those in training. The Government has said personnel strength has stabilised in recent months after years of decline. However it still remains significantly below its target of 1,094. Personnel shortages have significantly affected operations through the organisation. Earlier this year, the Naval Service was forced to send a ship on patrol with non-functional weapons due to a lack of maintenance staff. In March, the service prepared an action plan on how to get ships back to sea as soon as possible. This has been submitted to the Government. In response to queries, a Defence Forces spokeswoman said it does not comment on the operational capacity of the fleet. She said the Defence Forces is focused on the 'retention of our personnel and on general service recruitment, which has seen an encouraging return to positive figures through the recruitment efforts across the organisation. 'Most recently, 38 new naval service recruits commenced their training at the Joint Induction Training Centre on Monday last.'
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The surprising jobs with the fastest growing salaries - as economist reveals the AI truth all workers need to know
White-collar jobs most at risk of being replaced by AI have surprisingly experienced the fastest double-digit growth in salaries. Service jobs, rather than occupations requiring manual labour, made up nine of the top 10 roles that have had the biggest annual increase in advertised pay levels. SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman told Daily Mail Australia said AI was in fact creating more demand for professional roles provided the technology makes workers more efficient during a productivity crisis. 'What a lot of people have been missing in the AI conversation is that AI is there to make people more productive so, yes, it can do a lot of the tasks but that means a person using AI is able to produce more and do more,' he said. 'They're actually more productive so they're actually more valuable to the company. 'There are, in most roles, going to need to be some human intervention still.' Tax accountants saw average advertised pay surge 24.5 per cent to $95,375 based on positions on SEEK in April. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman told Daily Mail Australia said AI was creating more demand for white collar roles provided the technology could make professionals more efficient during a productivity crisis 'The one tax consultant can now do multiple client returns, as an example, in a day rather than maybe one or two,' Mr Chapman said. Analyst roles in the Department of Defence and the federal public services have seen a 26.8 per cent surge in advertised pay to $130,117. Geopolitical uncertainty has meant AI could in fact help intelligence analysts sift through a lot more data. 'You think about an intelligence analyst trying to analyse thousands of web pages - now AI can do that and flag the most pertinent ones for humans to assess,' he said. Meanwhile, high immigration levels are fuelling demand for housing but local licensing requirements means Australian citizens are more likely to get construction jobs. 'There are barriers to entry for foreign labour market participants to actually come in and add to supply in those roles,' Mr Chapman said. The requirement for local construction and trade licences saw a 16.6 per cent increase in advertised salaries to $90,695 for finishers on building projects. Australia's transition to renewable energy is also creating demand for electrical engineers in the energy space with their salaries soaring by 18.3 per cent to an average of $165,917. 'We've got the renewable energy push which is leading to a lot of demand for electrical engineers,' Mr Chapman said. At the lower end of the pay scale, shop assistants saw their pay levels rise by 16.2 per cent to $64,027. Hospitality job ads saw a 15.6 per cent increase to $70,762 for assistant roles. This was occurring as demand for cafe and restaurant meals continued to increase, even more than three years after Covid lockdowns ended. 'During Covid, people weren't going out as much as they were now there's been a bit of a resurgence in hospitality, especially as there has been a substitution in say international travel to domestic travel and that has encouraged and created more demand for hospitality,' Mr Chapman said. But in some sectors, advertised pay levels have been growing well below the overall wage price index of 3.4 per cent, despite unemployment still being low at 4.1 per cent. Manufacturing jobs saw an increase of just 2.6 per cent with Australia now focused on smaller-scale assembly. 'Heavy and medium industrial manufacturing: we stopped doing a lot of that,' Mr Chapman said. 'A lot of manufacturing now is local needs - it's been a big compositional change in manufacturing in Australia.' Technology, however, is still a threat to some sectors more than others with advertising, arts and media jobs seeing a 0.1 per cent annual decline in advertised salaries, with the likes of Google and Facebook continuing to take advertising revenue away from traditional media.
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Queensland town in limbo after sonic boom; Australian universities drop in rankings; and river swimming in Europe
Good afternoon. Residents in a tiny north Queensland town say they have been ignored for two years by the RAAF after a sonic boom from a fighter jet shattered windows and damaged roofs. In June 2023, an F-35 fighter from the nearby Townsville RAAF base broke the sound barrier over Greenvale, causing what locals say was a 'bloody terrifying' explosion initially mistaken for a car crash or gas bottle eruption. When the dust settled, about 14 homes in a straight line across the town of 192 people were damaged. But since then there's been silence from the air force – and unable to afford replacements, and with no local tradespeople – shattered windows are still replaced with temporary timber boards. The Department of Defence said the episode occurred 'within an area where overland supersonic airspeeds are approved', but the local MP, Robbie Katter, has described the defence force response as 'indifference at best'. Israel attacks Iran's Arak heavy water reactor as Iran hits Israeli hospital NSW Labor's anti-protest laws protecting places of worship have 'chilling effect' on democracy, court told Victoria's crime rate surges with young offenders contributing to record arrests Bruce Lehrmann pleads not guilty to stealing four-wheel drive in Tasmania Cambodia bans fruit imports and soap operas from Thailand as border dispute sours New Zealand halts millions of dollars in aid to Cook Islands over deals struck with China As the threat of war looms, are these four horsemen out of a job? It's all looking a bit apocalyptic, reckons Fiona Katauskas. 'Behind the filters and followers was a sophisticated criminal enterprise exploiting digital platforms to sell counterfeit luxury goods.' NSW police charged three men in Sydney on Wednesday as part of what Det Supt Peter Faux alleged was a $10m scheme to sell counterfeit luxury goods on social media. Police seized nine cars worth about $3m, more than 500 counterfeit luxury items, $270,000 in cash and a gel blaster imitation firearm. Twenty-five of Australia's 36 ranked universities have dropped in this year's QS World University Rankings, and just seven moved up – the third-biggest percentage drop in the world behind Austria (88%) and Russia (85%). The University of Melbourne, Australia's highest performer, dropped seven places to 19th, while the University of Sydney dropped from 18th in the world to 25th. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Across Europe, emboldened by a nine-year plan to clean up the Seine River in time for last year's Paris Olympics, city residents are pushing authorities to make their waterways swimmable. From Berlin to Oslo, Guardian reporters detail some of urban Europe's swimming hotspots – both those that are coming, and those that have been delighting city swimmers for years. Today's starter word is: KIER. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you'll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email
ABC News
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
Man injured in army vehicle rollover near Australian military training area
A man has been taken to hospital after an army vehicle rollover near a major Australian military training ground in central Queensland. Emergency services were called to the St Lawrence Road section of the Bruce Highway at Ogmore about 2.20pm after a Bushmaster truck rolled. The Queensland Ambulance Service said one man with minor injuries to his leg was treated by paramedics and was taken to the Rockhampton Hospital in a stable condition. At 4.30pm, a Queensland Police spokesperson said the Bruce Highway remained open to motorists. The incident happened just north of the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area, located about 100 kilometres north of Rockhampton. The Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area is a large area primarily used for military training exercises by the Australian Defence Force [ADF] and the Singapore Armed Forces [SAF]. The Bushmaster is a Protected Mobility Vehicle that serves many roles in the army. It can deploy up to ten troops and it's armoured V-shaped hull protects its passengers from landmines and other explosive devices. The ABC has contacted the Department of Defence for comment.
