Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, and I do commend him on the even-handed way he is working through the Press Gallery. He went to the Guardian yesterday, then he moved on to The Australian and now he has moved on to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. I well understand the limited resources available to leaders of the opposition, but generally there are more reliable sources of information than newspaper columnists. The honourable member is sitting here today as the alternative Prime Minister and he presents himself as the alternative Prime Minister of Australia.

Today the Minister for Defence and I unveiled, released, the defence white paper. It involves a commitment to securing Australia's safety, promoting our regional security, massive investments right across our armed forces, the revitalisation of the Navy, and making investments in naval shipbuilding, which the Labor Party had completely and utterly abandoned for years. The Labor Party left the naval construction industry in a valley of death. They neglected our Defence Force budget—they slashed it.

Mr Champion interjecting—

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