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

My question is to the Minister for Defence, Senator Payne. I refer to the election promise made by the government's first Defence Minister, Senator Johnston. He said:

The coalition today is committed to building 12 new submarines a year here in Adelaide.'

When Prime Minister Turnbull was asked about this broken promise on 28 October he said, 'I didn't make that statement,' and that he wasn't willing to go back into 'the archaeology of the last election'. Minister, will you fulfil the government's promise to build 12 submarines in Adelaide, or, like the Prime Minister, do you consider the government's election promises to be just irrelevant 'archaeology'?