‘Really important’ Marles and department ‘work together effectively’ amid feud

ASPI Senior Analyst Malcolm Davis says it is “really important” Defence Minister Richard Marles and his department “work together effectively” after it was revealed he was feuding with the Department of Defence earlier this week. Marles says his department still has a ‘way to go’ before it achieves excellence. Tensions between Mr Marles and the Department of Defence were revealed yesterday during Question Time after the Opposition called for him to lift his game. “The strategic circumstances that we’re in demand that all sides in our defence organisation and in government work together effectively to deal with the challenges that are ahead,” Mr Davis told Sky News Australia. “I think that it’s really important for both defence, as an organisation, and also the government to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. “We don’t have a lot of time to play with here – worst-case scenarios on some crises such as Taiwan, for example, suggest three to five years, so we don’t have a lot of time to mess about. “It’s really important that both government, with the minister, and also the defence organisation work together as an efficient team.”