Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Why do the Labor opposition keep giving us these opportunities? I just cannot believe it. It started the other day with an MPI from Senator Moore and it just gets better. Isn't it amazing what an expert Senator Conroy is in opposition? What an amazing expert in submarines he is in opposition. What a shame Senator Conroy did not say too much when he was a senior minister. As my leader just said, if there is a capability gap, I think it is between Senator Conroy's left ear and his right ear. Nevertheless, I think that jokes about a 'hunt for red October' will start to flow out.

Isn't it also incredible that the now Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shorten, seemed to be very silent when he was a senior minister? Here he was on 7 September demanding that the government promise to keep building submarines in South Australia. Where was he when Mr Rudd was Prime Minister, when Ms Gillard was Prime Minister and when Mr Rudd was Prime Minister again? Where was he in keeping Mr Rudd up to his promise that, 'A Labor government would ensure the submarines were built by ASC at its Port Adelaide site, with construction to begin in 2017'? Where were you, Senator Conroy, when Mr Rudd ripped $20 billion out of the defence project?

It is amazing that poor old Mr Shorten did not realise that his good mate Labor MP Mr David Feeney was going to be standing behind him at the great rally at ASC, because it was poor old David Feeney that belled the cat. At the rally he said, 'Australia's shipbuilding and submarine-building industry are now at the crossroads.' You bet they are at the crossroads. Who put them there? Who put them in the Conroy cul-de-sac? Who put them in the Feeney dead end? It was the Labor government of the day. They took $20 billion out of the submarine contract, with the complicit involvement of the South Australian Labor government. Don't forget that they were involved in this, Senator Conroy, while you turn your back to this discussion. They then turned around and took another $16 billion, much of which would have gone to the South Australian defence procurement and materiel organisation.

I turn to the comments made by Senator Johnston in response to the pathetic questions by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Wong, and her deputy, Senator Conroy. Senator Johnston indicated two things—firstly, his intimate knowledge of matters defence, particularly submarines. He was asked why he made certain observations and why he made certain others. The explanation, through you, Deputy President, to those in the public gallery, would be that when a responsible government leaves government you would expect there to be well-formed plans into the future for something as important as a procurement program for replacement of the Collins class submarine. You would expect that plan would be well formed, that it would be well developed and that it would be there for a new government to pick up and to carry on with, with or without modifications. When Senator Johnston, as defence minister, picked up that file, it was empty. Don't worry too much about the protestations of the people from the other side. I ask Senator Conroy and Senator Wong, a South Australian senator, a finance minister of the day: why were there no future plans for that gap in capability once the Collins class submarine was to be replaced? It was Senator Johnston who, in opposition, was so well versed in this portfolio that he was able to tell us here today the down time for the Australian Collins class submarine, the German submarine and the Japanese submarine. I think he said it was eight months for the Japanese, 11 months for the German and 18 months for the Collins class.

Whilst we move towards the white paper, let us not forget that the estimate for the cost of the replacement submarines, should they be built in Australia exclusively, is some $40 billion. The figures that I have seen—and I believe they are in the public arena—for German or Japanese submarines are half of that price. I defer again to my colleague Senator Fawcett, a man with an enormous amount of experience in this field, who has spoken of the fact that the Collins class submarine was initially designed by the Swedish and built with Swedish, US and French involvement. Senator Fawcett is very wisely saying that that type of process can work into the future for the benefit of Australia and South Australia. (Time expired)