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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, Senator Brandis. I refer to a recent column by the chair of the government's own Commission of Audit, Tony Shepherd, entitled 'The case for building submarines in Australia'. When reflecting on the success of the Anzac frigate and the Collins class submarine procurements, Mr Shepherd observes:

After the selection of a short-list of experienced offshore designers, funded project definition studies led to the submission of fixed price tenders for a local build which maximised the involvement of Australian industry. The Abbott government should follow this well-proven, risk-reduction path.

Minister, why is the government ignoring the chair of its own Commission of Audit and pursuing its risky and unproven competitive evaluation process?