Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Henderson not only for her question but for her passion and her relentless commitment to defence industry in Victoria. The first role of this government, and indeed any Australian government, is to keep Australia and Australians safe. That's why this government is investing $270 billion over the next decade into upgrading our defence capabilities, and this includes $55 billion into new land capabilities. This will ensure our land forces have greater lethality, greater range, greater mobility and, most importantly, great survivability for our troops. We must equip our Army to deter potential adversaries in the region and to be able to respond with credible force. That's why this government is investing in strike weapons, watercraft, helicopters, armoured fighting vehicles, logistic capabilities and also emerging robotics and autonomous systems.

Our region's challenging environment also demands that our Army can fight across a range of different domains and a range of regions. Thanks to this coalition government, the ADF now has an outstanding amphibious capability centred on our two magnificent Canberra class LHDs. Larger and more capable Army watercraft will support rapid regional deployment of ADF land capabilities, and they will be capable of independent and also task force operations. These investments, and the many more that we've outlined in the Force structure plan, are essential to our nation and essential to Australia maintaining our capability edge.