Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

And I will. From the South Australian Liberal senators—silence. They have not uttered one word demanding that this promise be kept. Not a word. Today is a test for South Australia Liberal Party senators and other South Australian senators. Will they stand-up for there state against a broken promise of this government, or will you all stay silent?

It is clear from the public statements of the Abbott government that it plans to abandon this promise and buy submarines from overseas. Just last week, we saw a secret delegation of Japanese submarine experts secreted into ASC. The South Australian government was not even told. They just brought them in, hid them and raced them out. They would not let them stop and answer questions. They would not even let them stop and answer a question at the airport. They dragged them through the airport with cameras following and still would not stop and answer a single question.

The government seems determined to do all it can to undermine Australia's strategically vital submarine and shipbuilding industry. In uncertain times, the last thing we should be doing is killing our submarine industry. It is against our national interest. It hurts our national security and it undermines our defence capability. The most vital question for you to consider over the coming months—because this is going to become live very soon—is: are the Japanese submarine's designed to meet Australia's capability needs and not to simply take them off the shelf from Japan? That is the most fundamental question. And what do you hear emanating from our defence establishment—from people who know about the submarine build? This government is not only breaking its election promise about where it is going to build them in South Australia but it is also not buying a submarine from Japan that has Australia's unique strategic needs for range, endurance and capability. That is the test. Do the Japanese submarines meet our capability needs?

This government is planning on spending billions of dollars on new submarines that are not going to be what our Navy say they need. The government is also doing nothing to ensure the survival of Australia's shipbuilding industry. Here is what the minister said—and I will not show it because I would not want to anger you again, Acting Deputy President Williams. Here is what the minister said:

I get really fired up when I find us giving away our manufacturing base in the Defence space—

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