Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Defence. I refer to the minister’s statement to this House on 25 February:

No special forces soldier in this country has a debt against his name because of the way in which Defence has implemented the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal’s decision—end of story.

I ask the minister: is it a fact that on 5 March, eight days after he made that statement to parliament, the defence department deposited a five-figure sum into the bank account of an SAS soldier for wrongfully deducting pay and forcing debt repayments on him? Isn’t it the plain fact that the minister has come into this parliament both yesterday and today refusing to stand by that statement of 25 February because what he told the House on that day was not true?

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