Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow minister for his question. I am extraordinarily happy to speak about the DSTO. Let me be clear about cuts to DSTO and where they fall, and let us look at this factually, because, unfortunately, the former Parliamentary Secretary for Defence in the last government has been found out. Despite promising an extra $138 million for DSTO at the 2010 election—that was Labor's promise—between 2011-12 and 2012-13 in the PBS, Labor cut the DSTO budget by $22.2 million. That is the Labor legacy fact.

In the PBS again, Labor ripped an additional $22 million from DSTO in the 2013-14 budget—that is a fact—and, in its last year in office, Labor ripped $106 million from DSTO, as we discovered in the additional estimates released in October 2013. So I am happy to talk about cuts, because the last three cuts at DSTO have come from the previous Labor government. It is because of Labor's successive cuts that DSTO has been forced to reduce its staff to balance its books. That is Labor's legacy; they are the facts and they are not disputed. This is another example of the mess that has been left. Any suggestion that these cuts belong to this government is farcical.

I will also take the opportunity to say, as I see the member for Canberra here, that those responsible in the last Labor government cut 14,500 APS jobs in their time in office. That is a statement of fact. There have been 2,800 Defence APS cuts over the last three years. That is a fact.

To the member who asked the question—you were the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, sir. This happened on your watch. Your silence was acquiescence. This is what you did to the DSTO.

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