Mr MARLES (Corio—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence) (14:44):

Last Thursday, the Minister for Defence Industry, on behalf of the government, announced a strategic shipbuilding partnership with Austal which represents the first occasion on which the Commonwealth government have committed to continuous naval shipbuilding in Western Australia, and we are doing that by accelerating the delivery of Army's landing craft, heavy and medium. In the process, we will provide for a more agile and more nimble army which is capable of projection.

This is entirely consistent with the foundational thinking that has been undertaking in the Defence strategic review, the central thesis of which is to build for our country a defence force that is capable of impactful projection. Be it bringing forward the delivery of our nuclear powered submarines by a decade or properly investing in our long-range strike capability or restructuring our Army so that it is better able to operate beyond our shores, all of these decisions have been taken with the singular focus of giving us a defence force which can project—and that is how defence policy is done.

It stands in stark contrast to those opposite, because those opposite didn't do defence policy; they did defence politics. They didn't do strategy; they did hoopla. They spent the better part of a decade yelling at China, and yet at the same time they opened up a gaping capability gap with our submarines. They talked a massive game when it came to defence spending, and yet at the same time they secretly squirrelled billions of dollars out of the defence budget. But we should not be surprised, because that is how they operated and it is how they continue to operate—and across the board.

We have heard the Leader of the Opposition talk a massive game when it comes to community safety, and yet, at the very same time, a member of his frontbench is writing letters advocating the release of a convicted child sex offender. Right there is a test for his leadership, a test which he will fail just as he has failed to provide for the defence of our country.

Our government is very different. We have engaged in the strategic thinking and we are backing it up with the practical decisions which are keeping Australians safe.