Andrew Hastie, the shadow defence minister, stated that under a Coalition government, women would have the opportunity to serve in close combat roles within the Australian Defence Force (ADF). However, he maintained his previous statement from 2018 where he expressed that these positions should be reserved for men only.
The Liberal Party recently decided to withdraw its endorsement of Benjamin Britton as the candidate for the Whitlam seat in NSW’s South Coast. This decision came after it was revealed that Britton had commented on a podcast in July, suggesting that the ADF needed to exclude women from combat roles in order to improve the defense system.
This incident brought back memories of a similar remark made by Andrew Hastie during an interview on Sky News in 2018. At that time, Hastie had voiced his opinion that the fighting spirit and effectiveness of a close combat unit are better maintained when it consists solely of men.
Britton has accused the party factions of orchestrating a “witch hunt” against him, but Dutton said there were several more issues that prompted his replacement.
“There were a number of issues, not just those that have been made public, in relation to the candidate, and we took a decision to replace Ben as the candidate,” he said at a press conference earlier this month.
“That’s the decision we’ve taken. I wish him well.”
Dutton was also pushed into confirming his support for women in ADF combat roles. 
“You saw my record as defence minister in relation to women serving in any role that they wanted to serve in the Australian Defence Force, and that would be the position under any government that I led,” he said. 
“Andrew Hastie’s view is the same as mine, and that’s the position.”
