The departure of the head of the Defence Capability Group, Air Marshall John Harvey, is another worrying sign of Labor’s deteriorating relationship with Defence.

The sudden and unexplained departure of Air Marshall Harvey last month, to take up ‘gardening leave’, is a sign that all is not well in Defence procurement.

Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel Senator Gary Humphries said today, “this development, on top of the sudden resignation of former Defence Materiel Or...

The latest illegal boat arrival, carrying 74 passengers and 2 crew, is the fourth boat in only three weeks since the new year, proving once again that the people smuggling business is showing no signs of slowing in 2012, Acting Shadow Minister for Immigration & Citizenship and Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection Michael Keenan said today.

“Four boats have arrived this year despite the heavy weather patterns that would normally deter people smuggling at this time ...

The arrival of the latest illegal boat, with 102 people on board, means 794 people have arrived on boats so far this month, making this the busiest December for illegal boat arrivals on record and it is still less than half way through, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison and Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection, Michael Keenan said today.

“People smugglers have reacted to the Government’s embrace of the Greens policies of onshore release...

Yesterday’s announcement that the Government’s has approved a ‘record number’ of Defence projects in 2011 is an elaborate deception.

The Government has in fact made only 4 first pass approvals so far this financial year, when they would need to make approximately 41 in 2011/12 to get back on track with the targets set in the 2009 Defence White Paper, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel, Senator Gary Humphries, said.

“First pass approvals get new projects started an...

“The Coalition is profoundly saddened at reports of a further tragedy off the coast of Java involving an overcrowded vessel believed to be carrying asylum seekers to Australia.

The human scale of this tragedy is not yet clear, but the initial reports indicate that many lives may have been lost.

While these events did not take place in Australia's waters they are equally devastating and equally tragic. The Coalition supports all efforts necessary to support the rescue and recovery op...