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The federal government is rejecting claims that the Australian Army is looking to close its gender gap by banning male recruits from taking up new roles.
Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said there's "no banning of men being recruited in the army".
"We don't have enough women in the armed forces and we are trying to encourage more to be a part of that society, but there is no banning of men being recruited," he said.
News Corp reported earlier that Australian Defence Force staff have been told to recruit only women, including in frontline combat roles, under threat of being reassigned if they ignore the directive in an attempt to increase the number of female soldiers in its ranks.
The move had reportedly been described as 'political correctness gone mad' by defence insiders.