• The Hon Andrew Hastie MP, Shadow Minister for Defence
  • Senator James Paterson, Acting Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs

The Opposition welcomes the government’s announcement of further support to Ukraine in the form of 30 additional Bushmaster vehicles.

For some time, the Opposition has been calling on the government to provide additional Bushmasters to Ukraine, which were not included in the May Budget or Labor’s last-minute package last month.

It is disappointing that the Prime Minister waited for a photo opportunity to announce this decision, which could have been made months ago.

While this decision has bipartisan support, once again, Labor has been slow to act. These vehicles must be sent to Ukraine as quickly as possible, without delay.

Australia strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty as we continue to call on Russia to cease their unprovoked, unjust and illegal war.

The Coalition supports the government identifying ongoing assistance to Ukraine and welcomes the opportunity to receive full details about this announcement in the near future.