Defence’s $37m spending on private helicopter hire ‘beyond a joke’, Labor says

Department concedes fault found in Taipan chopper could have led to catastrophic consequences'

Australia's defence department has revealed it is spending $37m to hire private helicopters as it grapples with low availability of the trouble-plagued Taipan choppers.

The move comes as defence officials concede a fault found in one of the helicopters in 2019 - when it was on its way to pick up the Australian defence force chief, Angus Campbell - could have led to catastrophic consequences" if left unfixed.