Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today made it clear again for the Opposition that the standard combat uniform, the shirt and pants, worn by Australian troops will continue to be manufactured in Australia.
That means the fabric is woven in Australia and the garment is stitched together in Australia.
If Senator Johnston checks the Hansard of Estimates he will see Senator Feeney said exactly that.
In November last year Mr Clare announced that Australian soldiers operating outside the wire in Afghanistan would be provided with a new combat uniform called Multicam.
This uniform was trialled by our Special Forces over the past 18 months.
The feedback from Australian soldiers is the Multicam uniform provides the best protection and camouflage.
The Government has bought a licence for this uniform so it can be made in Australia.
“If we didn’t do this we would have to buy the uniform from America and Australian jobs would be lost.”