Defence Minister Richard Marles says the Labor government is going to “actively manage” defence procurement after the “lost decade of negligence” on the part of the former government.
Mr Marles revealed multiple defence projects had been running overtime under the former Coalition government.
“I want to be clear on one point – this is not the fault of the Department of Defence. This is not the fault of Australian defence industry. They are fantastic and do a wonderful job in serving the national interest,” Mr Marles said during a media conference on Monday.
“What we have seen is a complete failure of leadership by the former Coalition government and … we intend to rectify that.
“We are going to manage defence spending in a way which achieves value for money for taxpayers. And we’re going to manage defence procurement in a way which is going to keep Australians safe.”
