Cabinet reshuffle sparks Land 400 dispute

THE state and federal governments have traded fire over Land 400, sparked by the demotion of a Victorian MP in the federal government’s cabinet reshuffle.

The race to secure the $5 billion dollar contract to build 225 armoured vehicles is down to two companies.

Rheinmetall will set up shop in Queensland if it wins, while BAE Systems will base its headquarters in Melbourne but also employ Marand to build hulls and turrets for its AMV35 vehicle in the former Ford factory in Geelong.

Last week, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the reshuffle, which resulted in more Queensland Nationals in the cabinet and the dumping of Nationals MP Darren Chester as Assistant Minister for Defence, among other changes.

In a media release following the announcement, Victorian Minister for Trade and Investment Philip Dalidakis said the Prime Minister was ignoring Victoria and that “instead of being awarded on merit, it looks increasingly likely that (Land 400) will go to Queensland as a naked pork barrelling exercise designed to help save Coalition seats at the next federal election.

“This project is too important to be the plaything of a Prime Minister desperate to save his political skin in Queensland.

“While Malcolm Turnbull may have silenced Darren Chester, he won’t silence Victoria – we’ll continue to lobby for Land 400 because we know that our state is best equipped to deliver the project.”

In response, Corangamite federal member Sarah Henderson said she was disappointed in Mr Dalidakis’ remarks, noting that she and Mr Dalidakis had jointly announced Marand’s involvement in Land 400 just over a month ago.

“The comments by the Victorian Trade and Investment Minister are ill informed, misguided and undermine the strong collaboration that is required to win this $5 billion defence contract for Victoria.

“There is no place for partisan politicking.

“The Turnbull government’s commitment to manufacturing jobs in Victoria is second to none. We are delivering record jobs growth and investing tens of millions of dollars in manufacturing.”