Cedit: Scott Morrison/Instagram
This idea was further compounded when a man with 40 years of experience with the Australian Defence Force confirmed he had never seen anything like it.
Ray Martin wrote on Twitter: In 40 years in the ADF, with eight Prime Ministers during that time, never saw one receive a red carpet and an honour guard for an internal visit to a base.
Until now. Did I miss one?
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Hell, we didn t even roll out the red carpet when the Prince Charles visited an RAAF base in Darwin back in 2018. You d think the next in line to the British throne would get one but nope.
New RAAF fighter jet worth $140million soars over Australia to drop BOMBS in training exercise dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he hopes a red carpet welcome for his successor Scott Morrison at a Newcastle air force base “won’t be repeated”, after an Instagram snap of the guard of honour went viral online.
The Department of Defence claimed the official welcome – including numerous Air Force members standing at attention, brandishing Australian flags was “standard protocol”, but Mr Turnbull and fellow former PM Kevin Rudd said they never received such a welcome.
The unusual controversy was set off on May 7, when Mr Morrison visited RAAF Williamtown, north of Newcastle in the NSW Hunter region.
He was in town to announce $66 million to upgrade the Newcastle Airport runway, to allow larger aircraft to land, which Mr Morrison said would “leverage our significant defence investments at RAAF Base Williamtown”.
China has threatened to bring economic carnage upon Australia in response to big defence spending announced in Tuesday s federal budget.
The government outlined a huge boost for the defence force, more funding for spies and help for exporters to find new markets in a massive push back against an increasingly assertive Beijing.
In response, Chinese newspaper the Global Times - a mouthpiece for the Communist Party government - has warned that Beijing will block more Australian exports after already banning a range of goods including barley, wine, beef and coal.
In an article titled Canberra s defence spending means more economic carnage , the publication warned Australia s natural gas exports could be next in the firing line.