Australian Minister of Defence, Australian Defence Force personnel are operating with world class equipment and clothing.
To claim our troops lives are at risk, as has been reported in The Weekend Australian today, is seriously misleading.
The Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has advised me that the troops have told him that they are the best equipped they have ever been.
We would not deploy troops on operations without the best available clothing and equipment.
As Minister for Defence I have an obligation to ensure all of our forces have the best equipment and clothing to do the job we ask of them.
I will be maintaining a personal interest in the well being of all members of the ADF be it on operations or at home.
A robust mechanism exists for troops to report on any faults with equipment and clothing and to make recommendations for improvement.
This system, the Report of Defective and Unsatisfactory Material, or RODUM, has revealed for example that out of 60,000 boots issued in the past 18 months, 60 complaints were reported. This represents 99.99% satisfaction rate with the boots issued to ADF personnel.
I have been assured by Chief of the Defence Force that any clothing issues raised will be addressed in an appropriate and timely manner.
Any issues that arise are taken very seriously as the safety and well being of our troops is paramount.
Opposition claims that the Government is not spending enough on clothing and equipment for our troops are wrong.
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