Abbott defence plan not serious: Snowdon

25 Sep 2012, 11:38 am   -   Source: AAP

Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon says an Abbott government won't need a new defence white paper.

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The federal opposition's plan to restore defence spending to Howard-era levels shouldn't be taken too seriously, says defence personnel minister Warren Snowdon.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott unveiled a raft of new defence spending plans during a speech to the Returned Services League (RSL) national conference in Sydney on Tuesday.

They included a pledge to boost defence spending by three per cent a year, buy new unmanned surveillance drones, move personnel to the nation's north and plug gaps in submarine capability.

"I don't think we can take it too seriously," Mr Snowdon told AAP outside the conference.

"It's a political statement."

An incoming coalition government would also publish a new defence white paper, 18 months after being elected, to plan future military needs and capabilities.

But Mr Snowdon said the government's white paper, due in 2013, would render the opposition's obsolete.

"I don't think he'll require another white paper 18 months after he gets in because the next white paper will be addressing our needs currently and anticipated needs," he added.

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