Judge me on performance, not gender: Defence Minister
Australia’s first female Defence Minister Marise Payne has asked to be judged on her performance.
Senator Payne was one of the biggest winners out of Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the ousting of Tony Abbott.
“Apparently I am Australia’s first female defence minister – all I ask is that I am judged on my performance, not on my gender,” she told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
Payne said she would not be making any announcements on new or changed priorities until after a week of briefings from the military’s top brass.
However, she backed a comment by Turnbull that China’s territorial ambitions in the South China Sea were counter-productive.
“His remarks were very considered – I would have no difference with those remarks,” she said.
The minister revealed she had met on Monday with US ambassador to Australia John Berry, along with Mr Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
The meeting reinforced the Turnbull government’s commitment to the US alliance, she said.
She also plans to attend the AUSMIN talks in the US in two weeks, as well as visit Indonesia.
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Payne said considerable work had been done on finding efficiencies in defence spending.
“I am sure there are always areas to pursue where greater efficiencies and greater effectiveness of the dollar can be found,” she said.
“The challenge for the management of a department this size and of an ADF the size that we have, is a significant one.”
The minister’s first major task will be the delivery of the defence white paper in October.
– AAP
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