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Watch: Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan addresses the media 8.45am
Coalition floats defence spending boost By Josefine Ganko A boost to defence spending could be a key Coalition policy at the next election, as shadow treasurer Angus Taylor claims he would lead a stronger economy to allow for the funding boost.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review , the Coalition is mulling a defence spending boost of at least $15 billion a year, with a view to reaching 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2029.
Taylor didn’t confirm the report, but told ABC’s RN Breakfast the key to being able to “spend what is necessary on defence is to have a strong economy”.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“We learned that during the Cold War. That is an essential part of the way the United States beat the Soviet Union.”
Asked how a Coalition government could boost defence spending while keeping its commitment to cap government spending, Taylor said the opposition opposed more than $100 billion of Labor spending.
“We’ll roll back the [Future Made in Australia] legislation, which is a very significant commitment from Labor that we think is inappropriate at the time.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told Nine’ Today that you “cannot take a single word that the Coalition says at face value”.
“Right now, we’ve put $50 billion of additional spending over the next decade into the budget. They still haven’t supported that, so words are cheap here. And we know that.”
8.26am
Dumped police chief accuses Victorian premier of corruption By Brittany Busch and John Silvester Dumped Victoria Police deputy commissioner Neil Paterson has accused Premier Jacinta Allan and Police Minister Anthony Carbines of corruption over his ousting.
Paterson has filed a complaint with the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) alleging he and former chief commissioner Shane Patton had been removed from their roles last month due to an unlawful conspiracy.
The Age has confirmed the contents of the 25-page complaint, which alleges a conspiracy and misconduct in public office.
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In it, Paterson calls for an investigation into whether the Allan government approached then emergency management commissioner Ri
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