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Marles said on RN earlier the additional Bushmasters would amount to a “major reinvestment” in Australia’s protected mobility fleet.
The heart of this spend is what we’re doing in Bendigo in the production of an additional 268 Bushmasters. And the vast majority of them are destined for the Australian Army.
He said the commitment to keep making the vehicles in Bendigo reflected a real “vote of confidence” in their work.
Government announces funding for new Bushmaster vehicles
Krishani Dhanji
The big defence spend continues, with the government promising three-quarters of a billion dollars to build 268 new Bushmasters in Bendigo, Victoria, over the next seven years to 2033.
You might already be familiar with the Bushmaster fleet – they’re the vehicles donated to the Ukrainian military to combat Russia.
The government says the vehicles are “critical to the integrated force”, with the Netherlands set to buy a fleet.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, is also announcing $450m of funding towards upgrades of the Hawkei protected mobility vehicles.
The spend follows the government announcing an extra $53bn of funding for Australia’s defence capabilities over the next decade earlier this month.
Marles said:
This announcement is great news for Australian industry and great news for regional Victoria. The Australian-built Bushmaster and Hawkei are recognised as world-leading protected mobility vehicles – supporting not just the Australian Defence Force, but the defence forces of our international partners as well.
Richard Marles says booing at Anzac Day services ‘disgraceful’
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said booing at Anzac Day dawn services was “disgraceful”, saying a welcome to country was simply a respectful thing to do.
Marles told RN Breakfast:
Anzac Day is a day on which we show respect. And to have booing in the face of that is profoundly disrespectful and in my mind goes against all that Anzac Day stands for …
Indigenous Australians deserve that respect … Indigenous Australians who served in our defence force deserve that respect. And that’s what we should be thinking about.
Marles said he didn’t agree with Angus Taylor when asked if welcomes to country were “overused”.
You know, Australians around the country in different contexts engage in welcome to countrys, and that’s a good thing.
Nationals MP says welcome to country is generally a ‘good part’ of ceremonies
Nationals MP Michael McCormack said he thinks welcome to county ceremonies are generally a “good part” of ceremonies after the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said on Sunday he thought they were overused.
Taylor made the comments after booing incidents at some of Saturday’s Anzac Day dawn services. McCormack said he believed that booing seemed to be almost “orchestrated” and was unacceptable. But when he was asked if he agreed with Taylor’s view on welcome to country, McCormack told RN Breakfast:
I can, if you have several speakers and every one of them takes a lot of their speech time to do welcomes to country when it’s already been done. If you do it at the start, you do it appropriately, I think most people find that to be a good part of the ceremony, and then you get on with what the actual event is all about.
And I think that’s probably appropriate.
Wong to visit Japan, China and South Korea to secure fuel supplies
Krishani Dhanji
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will travel to Japan today as part of another diplomatic tour to secure Australia’s fuel and energy supply chains.
The government has said Australia has more fuel now than before the Iran war, after underwriting several additional shipments, but Wong is on her way across Asia to make sure the supplies keep coming.
Wong will travel to China on Wednesday and Korea on Thursday, and said Australia will “continue working with international partners to help secure the supplies we need – including diesel, petrol and fertiliser – and ensure Australia is prioritised as a reliable energy partner”.
The Middle East conflict and closure of the strait of Hormuz continue to disrupt global energy markets, with Asian refineries and the Indo-Pacific region disproportionately affected. Direct, in-person engagement with counterparts across our region will help ensure we are coordinating effectively as these disruptions continue to unfold.
Earlier this month Wong travelled to Singapore, after the PM, who also visited Malaysia and Brunei.
Good morning
Good morning, Nick Visser here to guide you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, will travel to Japan today, part of a diplomatic trip to secure fuel supplies that will also include visits to China and South Korea. She said the effort will help “ensure Australia is prioritised as a reliable energy partner”.
The government will spend three-quarters of a billion dollars on 268 new armoured vehicles over the next seven years, which will be built in regional Victoria. Defence minister Richard Marles also announced $450m in funding upgrades towards protected mobility vehicles.
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