The key reason was those opposite were completely asleep at the wheel, although probably not the member for Herbert; he would have been having a beer—not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that.

Through activist policy, through focused investment, we are now growing the Defence Force again, which shows that, when you set the conditions right, young Australians are keen to wear our nation's uniform. That is the best part of this story, because, in this great news, the real credit lies with the thousands of young men and women across our country who are now making the remarkable decision to serve our nation.