In one of the side campaign issues, there is now pressure on Andrew Hastie to step aside from his shadow defence portfolio, after he didn’t disavow comments he made in 2018 that women shouldn’t serve in combat roles in the ADF. This all came about because Sarah Basford Canales at the Guardian revealed the Liberals candidate for Whitlam made similar comments on a more recent podcast. He was dumped by the Liberals. That candidate then turned around and said ‘well, Hastie agrees with me’. Peter Dutton said he believed that women should serve in combat roles in the ADF if they wished and that Hastie had the same view as him (Dutton).

But then the Australian reported that Hastie wasn’t stepping away from his 2018 comments (that he believed the fighting DNA of a combat unit was better protected when it was exclusively male) and that has created a very awkward sitch for the Coalition who now have to pretend that everyone is in agreement in their party that women can fight in the ADF when the shadow defence minister is staying mum.

Jane Hume gave this mess her best shot this morning:

Peter Dutton has made this very clear that women should be able to serve in the ADF in any role in which they choose. That policy hasn’t changed. It will continue. We also have incredible support for Andrew Hastie, who has served his country bravely in Kharkiv at the front line, unlike the Defence Minister Richard Marles, who has never served in the ADF. Andrew Hastie has extraordinary experience. He has the support of Peter Dutton, he has support of the Coalition, and our position hasn’t changed. Women should be able to serve in the ADF in whichever position they choose.

So what she is saying there though, is that by serving in the ADF, Hastie would be a better defence minister than Richard Marles, but Hastie doesn’t think women should be in combat roles so……