Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I bow to no-one in this chamber in being interested in Japanese culture and a supporter of the Japanese nation. I was very proud of the fact that, when Prime Minister Abe was here, I was mentioned in dispatches by him as one of the members of parliament on the other side who were supporters of Japan. But can you think of a project that is as big as the Future Submarine project that ought not to be seen by the Australian public as something they support because they can understand it clearly and openly as the defence of Australia being done at the best price and the best value to achieve the best result?

Collins class submarines are often denigrated around this country. But that was not the opinion I got from the admiral in charge of SINCPAC when he received a picture of an American aircraft carrier that had been taken from the periscope of a Collins class submarine. To say Adelaide should not be involved in submarine capability in the defence of Australia's future is a patently ridiculous idea. We have a strategic problem, which is that Australia is very far from other places and we need conventionally powered submarines which can travel very long distances. The idea that existing Japanese or German submarines of even the most advanced variety can do the distances from Australia to North Asia without surfacing and can be rolled off a Japanese assembly line without complications is patently ridiculous.

Even the great Soryu class submarine, which is named after the aircraft carrier that was sunk at the Battle of Midway, cannot do it; it would have to be substantially modified. What better way is there than to have an open process, as suggested by this Labor amendment, so the Australian people can understand whether these suggestions from various countries have the capability to do what they need to do for the defence of Australia. I strongly support this amendment and I think it is a very important suggestion from the Senate that should be followed.

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