Scott Morrison visits Townsville in khaki election amid defence and security tussle

He says the garrison city of 193,000 was a major source of troop deployments over the last year, including to Solomon Islands and Afghanistan.

"Australian soldiers, especially here in Townsville, they do need to be ready. And they need to always be ready," Mr Thompson said. In recent operations, they only had hours to move once deployed, the MP said.

It wasn't coincidental that Prime Minister Scott Morrison brought his campaign to Townsville on Tuesday.

With a large Australian Defence Force presence, and a local manufacturing industry, the city suited two of the Coalition's campaign messages: the economy, and national security.

Mr Morrison repeated them at local manufacturing plant TEi Services. The "khaki" election momentarily turned hi-vis orange, when the Prime Minister donned a fluoro vest and spoke to workers, looked at machinery and announced $70 million for a hydrogen hub in Townsville.

Then, it was straight back to khaki. Mr Morrison once again defended his engagement with the Pacific in light of Solomon Islands' security pact with China. To boot, he rubbished Labor's plan to grow Australia's influence in the Pacific including with funding to beam Australian news into the region.

"I send in the AFP, the Labor party wants to send in the ABC," he said, leaning on his decision last year to send federal police to help restore order in Solomon Islands after civil unrest.

The "khaki election" grew a few degrees hotter with Defence Minister Peter Dutton's comments on Anzac Day saying Australia must prepare for war if it wanted to preserve peace.

On local radio in Townsville on Tuesday morning, Mr Morrison sought to cool things down and calm fears, saying the government wasn't expecting war soon.

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Speaking to journalists later at the TEi manufacturing plant, his refusal to discuss how he would enforce a "red line" he drew on Sunday against a Chinese military base in Solomon Islands left the national security debate in flux. Maybe, as he said, it would be irresponsible for him to go into details. The Prime Minister along with the United States may also prefer to keep China guessing.

The tussle over national security bears risk for the Coalition this election, something made clear when the Solomon Islands security deal turned the tide against the government. Mr Morrison is working hard to wrest back the advantage.

His swing through northern Australia - Darwin and Townsville included - may help him in that quest. While he's at it, the Prime Minister is hoping to bring those regions along with him.