I disagree with the small scale politics. On small levels people tend to be leaner with their spending as they actually see it. On higher levels they look at the number of thousands or millions being spent rather than individual dollars. Though this probably changes depending on industry and region.

I’m on the fence regarding the ADF being used in times of need. On one hand if the ADF are tied up sorting out a natural disaster then they can’t perform their core function of protecting Australia’s borders, on the other hand we aren’t at war so why shouldn’t they help. If they were scaled up or to add a federal ‘ses’ (fes?) then I’d be onboard