Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

I will start with my colleague's question and come back to the others. Yes, we can guarantee our ongoing support for the base at Ipswich. It is very important to us, as you well understand. There will be no adverse operational impact. We remain committed in the way you described.

In answer to the question on the C27J, in May a media release from the shadow minister for defence, Senator David Johnston, made a series of assertions about the procurement of the C27J Spartan battlefield airlift aircraft. In his media release, Senator Johnston said:

It appears there was no competitive tender process, no rigorous evaluation, and a billion dollar decision has been based on a quick desk top audit.

With great respect to the member for Fadden, this stands in stark contrast to his words in the parliament on Thursday, 10 May:

… available at a very good price and option, may I commend the minister for a quick and sound decision. It is a very good capability. The loss of the Caribou was quite a loss in terms of short take-off and landing. The C-27J will add significant capability to our arsenal.

See this speech in context