Australia’s first female defence minister, Marise Payne, asked to be judged on her merits not her gender as she outlined her vision for the demanding portfolio in her first press conference.
Payne, who took up the position as part of Malcolm Turnbull’s new cabinet on Monday, will sit on the government’s national security committee (NSC). The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, whose portfolio covers the border protection agency Australian border force, was dumped from the NSC in the reshuffle.
Payne would not be drawn on whether Dutton should be part of the committee.
“I think that is a matter I would leave to the prime minister,” Payne said on Tuesday. “He makes these decisions and they are made with the responsibility of that role. I will leave that to him.”
The opposition spokesman on immigration, Richard Marles, said Dutton was the victim of political paybacks for his vocal support of the ousted prime minister, Tony Abbott, before last week’s dramatic leadership spill.
“It makes absolutely no sense that given its core business includes border protection policy, the person responsible for drafting and implementing that policy is frozen out,” Marles said. “Australia’s national security should be above party room vendettas. Mr Dutton should be immediately returned as a permanent member of the NSC.”
Turnbull raised concerns about China’s territorial ambitions in the South China Sea on Monday night.
“I think it’s been one of the more counterproductive foreign policies undertaken by China,” the prime minister told the ABC’s 730 program. “What we need to ensure is that the rise of China ... be conducted in a manner that does not disturb the security and the relative harmony of the region.”
Payne backed her leader’s stance.
“His remarks were very considered. I would have no difference with those remarks,” she said.
Security considerations in the South China Sea are likely to feature in the defence white paper which Payne confirmed would be released within weeks, in accordance with the timeline set out by her predecessor, Kevin Andrews.
Payne has already had briefings with the Australian defence force chief, Mark Binskin, the secretary of the Department of Defence, Dennis Richardson, and the US ambassador, John Berry. She intends to have further briefings, including on defence funding certainty, later this week.
She hopes to visit Indonesia later in the year to help rebuild a relationship strained over the past few years.
Payne acknowledged the “serious threat” posed by the extremist group Islamic State, also known as Daesh, but backed away from the emotive term “death cult” which was favoured by Abbott.
“We have clearly been operating in a different paradigm for some time now with a non-state actor as our principle challenge or opponent,” she said. “There is absolutely no doubt that there are individuals, leaders in that organisation, who are intent upon disrupting western democracies.
“I don’t think that the magnitude of the threat should be underestimated. I think it is a very serious threat, there is no question.”
Payne outlined her credentials for the job, including her long-held membership of both joint and Senate committees on foreign affairs.
She hoped her merits spoke for themselves.
“All I ask is that I am judged on my performance, not on my gender,” she said, adding that it “would be fabulous” if her appointment led to more women joining the defence forces or entering politics.
She teared up when paying tribute to her father, a veteran of the second world war, who she described as her inspiration.
“He fought for this nation in New Guinea, in Noumea, and he came back to Australia after world war two so proud of what this nation could achieve on the international stage,” she said. “Fast-forward many, many decades, I have enormous pride in what this nation can and does do on the national stage, international stage, and I look forward to continuing to make a contribution in that regard.”
