Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

There is a rotating litany of defence ministers that come and go. Goldfish have a longer life expectancy than defence ministers in this government. They are spending $7 billion on new Black Hawk helicopters after spending $3½ billion on the MRH-90 failed Taipans, a helicopter where the door was not wide enough for troops to exit the helicopter while firing the helicopter machine gun. We had the $1.5 billion Spartan battlefield airlift aircraft that couldn't fly into battlefields—a minor problem, spending $1½ billion of taxpayers' money on an aircraft that couldn't perform its main purpose of flying into battlefields. We had the $3 billion battlefield management system that failed cybersecurity tests. We had $4 billion wasted on the Attack class submarines, on the contract with the French, which this government has now junked. We only learned yesterday that the Joint Strike Fighter, the $16 billion spear's edge of ADF, the frontline air defence fighter for the ADF, is flying thousands fewer hours each year than planned and budgeted for.

Probably the most appalling example is the $30 billion Hunter class frigates that have now blown out to $45 billion. They have gone from $30 billion to $45 billion, and not one of them has hit the water yet. They are running four years late; they are 2,000 tonnes overweight; they will be slower than the rest of the fleet; they will have a shorter range than the rest of the fleet; and they will be very noisy, which is a problem for a frigate that's primarily designed to hunt submarines. Noise is an issue if you are trying to hunt submarines, unsurprisingly. As concerning as that is the fact that, because it's overweight, because they have stuffed up the design, the frigate captains will have to choose between using their radar and going at full speed. In a high-threat environment, where you're facing potentially incoming missiles, being able to use your radar and go at full speed tend to go hand in hand.

So this government is failing the defence of the nation because it is failing on defence procurement. It's failing on dealing with the issue of an aggressive China. They sold the Port of Darwin, and they are now trying to politicise it, at two minutes to midnight, in a vain attempt to get re-elected.

The great tragedy is: there are many decent people in the Liberals and the National Party. There are really decent people who are united in making Australia a better place and making sure that we defend Australia and our national interest. But they are being led by people who are unworthy. They are being led by people who will stoop to anything to wring out petty political advantage. They will use the proceeds of crime money for petty political advantage. They will politicise the ADF. They will fearmonger and scaremonger to try and wring out every little political advantage as we approach an election. That's a great pity because it not only does them a disservice, it does the nation a disservice. It undermines confidence in the parliamentary system. It undermines confidence in a united Australia that will confront the many global challenges that are now arising.

So I end this speech with profound disappointment about the actions of the government. I can only say: let's bring on a Labor government. We'll fix this country. (Time expired)

See this speech in context