Jackie Kelly (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Defence. Could the minister update the House on the government’s commitment to securing and protecting Australia?

Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lindsay for her question. There is no finer representative of the strong directions and mainstream values of this government than the member for Lindsay. She herself had a distinguished career in the Royal Australian Air Force.

The first responsibility of the government is the defence of Australia and the protection of Australia and its interests. Ten years ago when this government came to office and found that we had been left with a $10.3 billion deficit—accumulated and given to us in part in no small way by the now Leader of the Opposition—the first and only area of government expenditure that was not subjected to bringing spending below income was that of Defence. At the same time what the Howard government did was to shift $800 million from the back end of Defence, from the desks, to the front end of Defence, from the tail to the teeth. In the year 2000 the Prime Minister released the white paper on defence which set the 10-year vision and strategic direction for defence in Australia and added another $28½ billion to defence expenditure out to the year 2010. Since then we have now approved 141 major capability projects which include—

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Mr Speaker: it is an abuse of question time. This is a ministerial statement, and question time is precluded from having ministerial—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The minister was asked a question. He is answering the question.

Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those 141 major capability projects have included not only rectifying the significant problems given to us in the Collins class submarines by a previous Minister for Defence—which are now world class, I might add—but also investing in 22 attack armed reconnaissance helicopters. We have taken delivery in the United States in the last week of five of the first 59 heavy Abrams tanks, we have got 14 Armidale class patrol boats and the member for Leichhardt only last week told the people of Cairns that the $75 million upgrade there will proceed. The government recently announced, in addition to that, another $1½ billion to increase the size of and to give more strength and tanks to the Australian Army.

I might also add that in all of this the government has made it a priority to see that wherever possible Australian industry can invest in and contribute to hard earned Australian taxpayers’ investments in defence. In fact, I read in today’s Australian Financial Review Mr Geoffrey Barker saying of the government in defence over the last 10 years and going forward:

No peacetime government has attended to defence policy in all its dimensions more assiduously, or even more obsessively, than the Howard government.

He said it has presided ‘over major organisational reforms, significant developments in strategic and force structure policy and continuing growth in defence spending’. I think the Executive Director of the Australian Defence Association put it very well when he said:

The National Security Committee of Cabinet is probably the most successful since World War II.

This government will not be cutting and running in defence, whether it is in Iraq or Afghanistan or indeed in the long-term strategic direction in the defence of Australia and the investment required to support it, which includes in no small way a strong economy.