Federal election 2025: Labor’s Murray Watt likens Peter Dutton’s Russian-Indo concerns to ‘Loch Ness Monster’

Labor frontbencher Murray Watt insisted that “no proposal” had been received regarding Russia setting up an airbase in Indonesia.

His comments on Sunday marked Labor’s strongest yet in response to reports Moscow sought permission to station aircraft at Indonesia’s Manuhua Air Force Base in Biak, Papua.

“There is no proposal from Russia to have a base anywhere in Indonesia in the way that Peter Dutton and his colleagues have been claiming,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

“The Opposition is asking for a briefing on something that doesn’t exist. I mean, they might as well ask for a briefing on the Loch Ness Monster. This is something that doesn’t exist — that they fabricated.”

Moscow’s ambassador to Jakarta, Sergei Tolchenov, said last week he was “sure that there would be substantive agreements” on military cooperation.

But Defence Minister Richard Marles has insisted there’s “no prospect” of a Russian base in the province, which lies just 1400km from Darwin.

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie, however, insisted the “substantive” concerns remains and continued to push for a briefing.

“The substantive issue remains. The military reports. The journalists . . . stand by their story,” she said.

The reports, first aired by respected military publisher Janes sparked a national security row.

The Opposition Leader quickly criticised Labor’s response.

Mr Dutton then misspoke by claiming the Indonesian President had issued a statement on the matter rather than Janes.

Mr Watt labelled the Opposition’s demand for a briefing — something not required under caretaker conventions and repeatedly denied by Labor — as absurd.

“We’ve seen the prospective PM apologise for fabricating a claim,” he said.

He also criticised Ms McKenzie after claiming Russia and China wanted Labor re-elected — a comment she later retracted.

“She had to embarrassingly walk that back,” he said.