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

Senator Gallacher, no final decision has been made in relation to this matter. But I can assure you that when an international partner is chosen to partner with Australian industry to build the next generation Australian submarine it will be the international partner which is best placed to meet the criteria which the government has specified. That international partner will be chosen through the competitive evaluation process that we have been explaining to you for some weeks now, and Australia's national interest will be the first and last consideration.