George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

No deal has been done. No decision has been made. What the government has announced is that there will be a competitive evaluation process to select an international partner to develop the next generation of Australian submarines.

I must say, Senator Gallacher, I find this more than curious coming from you, a Labor senator—this new-found interest in the Australia submarine project, which was allowed to lie in abeyance for the entire six years of your Labor government.

For six years, you did nothing. Your party did nothing. Through successive defence ministers, the future submarine lay in the too-hard basket because not one of your ministers whether it was Joel Fitzgibbon, whether it was John Faulkner, whether it was Stephen Smith was prepared to make a decision. This government has made a decision to progress the future Australian submarine. No decision has been made as to the international partner. A decision will be made as a result of the competitive evaluation process that was announced by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence. The various bidding countries, whether they be Japan or France or Germany, will be appraised and are being appraised. But Senator Gallacher, you sat on your hands for six years and did nothing.