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

I begin by saying to Senator Conroy: we missed you. The question that Senator Conroy asked is clearly grounded in his experience of having discussed these issues across the chamber with me before. He knows very well what the competitive evaluation process required of the international contributors. It required each international contributor from Japan, France and Germany respectively to provide to the government by 30 November a submission that canvassed a completely international build, what is known as a hybrid build and a completely domestic build. He knows that; yet he apparently chooses to ignore that competitive evaluation process. The government does not. The government is adhering to the competitive evaluation process.

That said, we have today announced in the 2016 Defence white paper that we will acquire 12 submarines for the Australian Navy. All those opposite can do, which is absolutely fascinating after they released an average white paper in 2009 and a completely unfunded white paper in 2013 and placed not one single solitary order for one single Navy vessel, is criticise the government's commitment to acquire 12 regionally superior submarines for Australia. Their record speaks for itself.