Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence. Will the minister inform the House how the Morrison government is going further in doing what works to secure our recovery by securing our nation and keeping all Australians safe?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Fisher for his question. I thank him also for his leadership of the committee here that deals with defence matters. He's a great supporter of veterans. I saw and met with some of them in Fisher recently. He has a particular passion for making sure that his local defence personnel and veterans are taken care of, and it's a great credit to him.

This government has the same approach. We want to make sure that we can take care of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force. We want to make sure that we can protect our country not only today. Bearing in mind that the decisions we make today and the investments we make today will come to fruition in five or 10 years time, we need to keep an eye on what those threats might be. Similarly, when people have made decisions in the past whether to invest or not to invest, we live with those decisions today.

When Labor were in power, they cut defence spending. They took money away from the defence department. They didn't put money into the Defence Force as was needed. We are now paying a price today because we bear the risk of a capability gap because the Labor Party spent money everywhere but in defence. They took money out of national security.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They don't like it, but that is a fact. If you dispute the fact, stand up and point out where it's wrong. That is a fact. They did not support our defence industry. They did not support the Australian Defence Force. The fact is that this government has invested $270 billion over a decade into restoration of that support and making sure that we can support the security of this nation.

We have $183 billion in the Naval Shipbuilding Plan, which represents the largest regeneration of the Navy since the Second World War. More than 70 vessels will be built in Australia. We're purchasing 72 F-35A aircraft to replace the Hornets, with 37 aircraft already received and more than 10,000 hours flown. We're investing $55 billion into modernising our land capability over the decade. We are putting money into strike weapons. We're putting money into helicopters, logistics resilience, robotics and autonomous systems. We're putting money, importantly, into cyberdefences.

All Australians understand the risks that our country and other countries face in relation to those that would seek to exploit our systems. It is now more than ever important that we invest in those systems, and that is exactly what this budget is about.