Labor Under Scrutiny Over Defence Manufacturing Deal

Australian Army aircrewman prepares to conduct a rescue by winch of a community member from an MRH-90 Taipan, over Lismore, Australia, on Feb. 28, 2022. Australian Defence Force

The federal government’s commitment to Australian manufacturing is under scrutiny after a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars was awarded to a New Zealand company.

Crossbench senator for Tasmania, Tammy Tyrell, has criticised the decision by the federal government to award a $259 million (US$173 million) defence rations contract to a New Zealand company, Prepack, to produce over 400,000 Australian military ration packs for the next eight years.