Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman has accused Labour's defence spokesperson Phil Goff of misleading the public over defence spending cuts.
Mr Goff had released confidential reports to a Parliamentary select committee raising concerns about the capability of the Defence Force to meet future deployments.
But Dr Coleman said Mr Goff is creating a false picture of the state of the military by selectively leaking out-of-date information.
Dr Coleman said the number of people leaving the Defence Force is now below its long-term average, and morale has been improving for the past 21 months.
The Defence Force told a Parliamentary committee on Tuesday it could take up to seven years to repair the damage caused by Budget cuts and get the force back to full strength.