Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

In 9½ years, there were 24 different ministers in the Defence portfolio, because they saw being defence minister as a trophy and they saw the Defence Force as simply an opportunity to raise money for the Liberal Party. Well, all of that has completely changed. In our first 100 days in office, we commissioned the Defence Strategic Review, and the government's response to it has recast our Defence Force for the first time in 35 years, giving it a clear direction for a new strategic posture, because we are able to make the difficult decision to prioritise money where it's needed most.

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