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

I will just respond very quickly. I think it is a bit cute. We hear constantly in the parliament from the Leader of the Opposition and from all the shadow ministers—in a chorus, really—a negative tirade around what government is doing or not doing. They have rubbished the budget. They have a $70 billion black hole, but they cannot tell us, or will not tell us, whether or not they are committed to the $5.4 billion worth of savings in the defence budget. If you are not committed to these savings, you have an obligation to tell the Australian community what it is you are committed to. If you are not committed to these savings which we have identified, what do you intend to do? How will you fill the $70 billion black hole—to which, if you are not committed to these savings, we can add another $5.4 billion? You have an obligation not only to the Australian community but to the Australian Defence Force to tell them what your intention is. What we do know is that there is confusion, because there are different words coming out of the mouths of the shadow minister for defence and the shadow minister for defence science and personnel. I just say to them: get your act together. Ask the shadow Treasurer—although he will have a conflicting view, it is clear. He wants to buy the submarines from overseas, costing Australian workers' jobs.

We are committed in this budget to extending the purchases that we have outlined in terms of our capability development, and we have invested in excess of $200 million for the further development of the submarines, which we want built in Australia—12 of them, to be built in Adelaide. You would think we would hear from the opposition whether they are committed to that process or not. To this point, we have heard nothing apart from confusion and dissembling. Tell us the truth: are you committed to the $5.4 billion worth of savings we are proposing in this budget or not? If not, itemise which of these items you are not prepared to support and tell us where the savings are coming from.

See this speech in context