Plans for a major sale of properties from the federal government’s sprawling Defence real estate portfolio have been shelved until next year, and probably until after the election, amid fears of a backlash over the disposal of prime military sites.

The Coalition and the Greens lashed the government for the delay, which comes as it downgrades its ambitious recruitment targets and invests an extra $600 million in incentives to attract more Australians to serve in the military.

Defence Minister Richard Marles received a sweeping audit of Defence property last December and planned to release a response in the middle of this year.

Marles now says the government will not act on the audit until “sometime next year”, meaning the government may have sat on the report for more than 18 months befo

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