This blog is now closedNo relief for borrowers as Reserve Bank leaves interest rates on hold at 4.35%Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast‘We need to extend the average time people stay in our defence force,’ says Matt KeoughThe defence personnel minister, Matt Keough, has also been talking about that retention and renumeration package for defence.We need to extend the average time people stay in our defence force.That does mean it had a vulnerability. We’re looking at moving to more of a mesh-type arrangement of satellites, which provides greater resilience, with a more up-to-date technology, and we’ll be able to deliver the technology faster as well.We are very much confident that we can meet these targets and that’s because we have properly funded them and we have a plan to get there, which is about really improving the terms of service for those who work in our defence forces.We’re increasing and expanding the bonuses for continuing on in the defence force. We’re continuing the original retention bonus after your initial service obligation for three years and beyond that. There will be another bonus for people who stay in the defence force after that. And that’s really targeting those who are in their seventh, eighth, ninth years of service, which gets to the middle