Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence, Senator Payne. Last Friday, in evidence to the Senate inquiry on the future of naval shipbuilding, defence officials revealed that, after the announcement of the Austal-ASC teaming agreement, Mr Kim Gillis, deputy secretary of CASG, called three international bidders for the $35 billion Future Frigate program and assured them they were not required to utilise the Australian workforce. Why are bidders for the program being discouraged from working with Australian companies?