Some very disturbing new information has come to light regarding the fiasco of retiring and burying the Taipan helicopter fleet. Senator David Fawcett (Lib / SA) has confirmed to me that he briefed the government in mid-October that Ukraine was interested in acquiring them. He was in a NATO meeting October 7-12 and met a number of Ukrainian military figures who stated their interest in Taipan, especially for MEDEVAC. It is unconscionable that the government then went ahead with the secret scheme to trash them. And let’s talk cost of living pressures. Getting rid of Taipans and unnecessarily replacing them with older Black Hawks costs around $4 billion, which works out to about $640 for a family of four. Which would you rather have: that money or some buried helicopters? Inflation? What is a major cause of inflation – the war in Ukraine. You want to put downward pressure on inflation then how about giving Ukraine the means to defeat Russia? And a final word about AUKUS. There’s also bipartisan support in the US for Ukraine – and look where that’s got them.