When Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as Prime Minister in September, one of his first moves was to replace Kevin Andrews, the no-nonsense Minister for Defence who had taken a firm line in Chinese military adventurism in the South China Sea and put defence procurement back on an even keel, with Marise Payne, a Turnbull loyalist without senior ministerial experience. Julie Bishop, left, and Marise Payne. It has taken less than three months for the defence portfolio to start to unrave…
