Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The Chief of the Defence Force confirmed yesterday, as honourable members would have noted, that there has been no delay to the Future Submarine Program. The actual delivery date of the first future submarine will depend, naturally, on the outcome of the competitive evaluation process which is underway, and that reality has not changed. The Chief of the Defence Force confirmed that Defence analysis indicates that all of the Collins-class submarines will require upgrades before the introduction of the future submarine. One or two may need to be put through an additional full-cycle docking, which is a deeper level of maintenance.

Since coming to government the coalition has commenced a competitive evaluation process for our future submarines, future frigates and offshore patrol vessels. We have tenders underway for Australian industry to build the replacement Pacific patrol boats. Unlike those opposite, who slashed $18 billion from Defence spending—

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