Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

For these two senators to introduce this right now, as we are starting to close the competitive evaluation process, is quite vacuous. They indeed know what is going on. They are fully aware of it. This competitive evaluation process is developing an enormous amount of credibility day by day outside of the government. It has momentum which they understand. They are merely seeking to grandstand here. If they were serious about it with the two white papers that were commissioned in the term of the former government, why didn't they actually contribute the funds and commit to the projects? $19.6 billion was taken out of the defence budget and Senator Conroy sits there now arguing about something that he failed to argue about.