The Greens have pledged to establish a specialist firefighting unit within the Australian Defence Force and bolster Australia’s aerial firefighting fleet.

Greens Emergency Management spokesperson Nick McKim said the recent fires in Tasmania’s wilderness had shown the increasing fire risk that Australia faces from a warming climate.

“The science is clear - global warming means hotter, drier summers, with more dry lightning strikes, and therefore more bushfires,” Senator McKim said.

Greens spokesperson for Defence, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says the Defence department must stop insisting that the identity of the buyer of the Pontville detention centre remain secret.

Senator Whish-Wilson, “The Defence Department are keeping the buyer’s identity of the Pontville detention centre secret on the final day before we enter the caretaker period before the election.

“The Pontville centre was a major public asset and the public have the right to know who bought it and how much they paid.

Greens Defence and Finance Spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has released analysis from the Parliamentary Library showing that the new Defence spending outlined in yesterday’s White Paper has obliterated future budget surpluses.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Scott Morrison’s and Mathias Cormann’s ‘credible path to surplus’ appears to have taken a detour via the South China Sea.

Greens spokesperson for Defence Peter Whish-Wilson provides the following comments on today’s announcement that Australia is joining and contributing to a regional arms race, with a massive blow-out in expenditure in the Defence White Paper.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, "Reports today about the Defence White Paper suggest that the paper will indicate that the threat level to Australia remains unchanged, yet somehow the Government has decided to continue to ramp up their Defence spending.

"I was expecting to see evidence of the fingerprints of the new Prime Minister and Defence Minister but the reports indicate the government is continuing to pursue Abbott-era policy settings. 

Greens spokesperson for Defence, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, welcomes the support of the Senate to establish an Inquiry into Australia’s procurement of the $24 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Despite heavy lobbying of the cross-bench by the world’s largest arms manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, the Senate today voted to establish an Inquiry into Australia’s $24 billion procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.