Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been grilled over the circumstances surrounding a leaked report on a Cabinet-blocked Pacific strategy.
It comes after the Cabinet's National Security Committee rejected a $2.8 billion plan to increase Australia's “soft power” in the Pacific - emphasising economic plans such as labour mobility schemes.
However, Cabinet's National Security Committee rejected the $2.8 billion plan as too costly.
“My National Security Committee has been extremely tight, and I have no doubt that the members of my National Security Committee are very, very extremely tight,” Mr Morrison said.
“I’m not going to confirm one way or another on the matters in that report, I don’t discuss things…I’m not even confirming that’s there was a leak, I’m not even confirming that there’s a leak,” he said.
Mr Morrison was repeatedly asked on details surrounding the leak.
“I’m not going to speculate on these issues, as I’ve already told you. I’m not even confirming that these are matters that have even been discussed.”
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