David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

What did the previous government do about Pacific class patrol boats? Nothing. We have put the money on the table to call for tenders for the production of more than 20 of those ships. But it gets worse. What did they do last year about Aurora Australis? They ran a tender closing on 9 May. Did they stipulate that that 8,000-tonne ship built by Carrington Slipways in the Hunter should be an Australian production? No, they did not. That tender closed, and they are allowing an 8,000-tonne icebreaker to be built in Europe. Under their watch, bleating and complaining about the valley of death, they allowed a ship that was built in Australia to now be built offshore. I just wish hypocrisy was worth something, because the Labor Party would turn us into millionaires.