Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very important supplementary question from Senator Fawcett because, for the Future Submarine program, realistic capability costs and scheduling estimates will be achieved by engaging with the selected design and build partner to make informed decisions on cost capability trade-offs and risks from the earliest stages of design.

The CEP process has been designed so that we can select an international partner and get on with the task of designing and constructing our future submarine, while minimising the life extension required for the Collins submarines. What happened with those opposite is that they sat on their hands. They sat on their hands for six years in government, and now some of them seem to want to delay this project even further, which would significantly heighten the risk of a capability gap. That is not a proposition the government is prepared to accept when the safety and security of the nation is at stake. When this vitally important capability is at stake we will not participate in that process. We will make the right decisions. (Time expired)