David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

As I stated earlier, the previous government has left the current Defence budget in an unsustainable mess. The constant and repeated cuts to Defence under the previous government have left the portfolio reeling. Sixteen billion dollars, in just a few short years, was ripped out of the portfolio—treated like an ATM. Labor slashed 10.5 per cent from the 2012-13 budget, the largest single cut since the Korean conflict. The cuts and uncertainty around the Defence budget led the Australian defence industry to slash more than 10 per cent of its workforce. That is at least 5,000 jobs you are responsible for that have gone because defence industry has had no work. Without restoring defence spending, the capabilities outlined in the previous government's white paper are simply not able to be met. Despite this, the Labor Party continue to boast of their so-called achievements— (Time expired)