Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for their question. The highest duty of any government is to defend the Australian people and safeguard our national interest. The Albanese Labor government is laser focused on delivering this through record Defence investments, our reform agenda and getting the equipment our ADF needs into their hands sooner. We're delivering warships way ahead of schedule. We're producing autonomous Ghost Shark submarines right now to safeguard our maritime approaches. We're rolling missiles out of an Aussie factory and building a second one right now, and we're acquiring counterdrone capabilities in record time.

Now, I'm asked about alternative approaches. While we've been busy delivering, what's the former shadow defence minister been up to? He certainly hasn't been asking many questions in parliament—three Defence questions in 285 days. To be fair, I think he's actually learned from his disastrous time as the shadow Treasurer. Some would reflect and try and improve their performance but not the member for Hume. He's decided the simplest solution is to just disappear. You can't fail if no-one knows you're the shadow defence minister. Three defence questions in 285 days—clearly his focus has been elsewhere. One thing is crystal clear: his focus is self-interest, not the national interest.

Let's summarise our approach to Defence compared to the member for Hume's record. We're acquiring stealth fighters. He was a stealth shadow minister. We're investing record amounts in our submarines as part of the silent service. He was the silent Defence spokesperson. We have the Nulka, which imitates warships to decoy missiles. He imitated Facebook followers. We're forging ammunition and shells. He used documents that—let's say—weren't real.

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