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

Yes, exactly. And he knighted Prince Philip. All of these were captain's picks. But they are not the worst. That litany of captain's picks is not the worst of his captain's picks. Senator Bernardi from South Australia, stop sneaking out of the room to go and use your new NBN connection! Come back in here and vote for South Australian jobs!

So, here we are today with a sham process and the worst captain's pick of them all. This is a project valued at up to $50 billion that is crucial to the defence of our nation for decades to come, and upon which the livelihoods of thousands of hardworking Australians depend. And while Mr Abbott seems content to just throw billions of dollars and thousands of Australian jobs away, in this place we cannot allow this to happen. We know, based on testimony from Australian officials, that the Department of Defence did not provide advice on this process. We know that it was concocted by the Prime Minister and his staff, not our defence procurement experts. We know, thanks to the honesty of Australian officials, that Japan's involvement in this process is 'based on political considerations, not merit'. That is because Mr Abbott needed a way to ensure that Japan was included in this sham process. We know from Australian officials that this process—it is quite extraordinary for a process for a $50 billion project!—will not result in comparable bids with fixed prices and fixed time lines. That is because this process is a political fix designed in a panic by the Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence and their staff to solve Mr Abbott's political problem. We know, based on testimony from officials at Senate estimates in June, that the recommendations at the end of this sham process will be reconciled with 'broader strategic considerations'. That is because Tony Abbott needed a way to keep his word to Prime Minister Abe—