Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question, and I hope this is strictly supplementary. Noting both the 2009 and 2011 defence white papers, documents borne out of defence department and other agencies' strategic analysis, if they determine that Australia needs to have 12 submarines, can the government confirm that, given the situation in this region, future submarine numbers will be at least 12?