Has the ‘benefit’ of all this additional ‘security’ been worth the cost?
Spending on ‘public order and safety’ by the Commonwealth Government has risen by 230% since 2000 – 01 – a larger increase than in any other category of spending apart from transport and communications. Within that category, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization ’s budget has increased by 573% (from $76mn to $512mn); the Australian Secret Intelligence Service’s budget has increased by 712% (from $43mn to $346mn); while the Australian Federal Police budget has grown, despite some cut-backs in the 2014-15 Budget, by 230% (from $584mn to $1.9bn). Total Commonwealth Government spending rose by 147% over the same period.