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

As I said, the Hunter class frigates are the final step in our historic plans to regenerate the Royal Australian Navy. What the government has now announced is a build of 54 new naval ships in Australia, using thousands of Australian workers and businesses, delivering uniquely Australian capability.

Whether it's the next generation of 12 Future Submarines that the Prime Minister and I announced in April 2016, whether it's the 21 steel-hulled Pacific patrol boats that we signed a contract for with Austal ships in May 2016, whether it's the 12 new offshore patrol vessels that we announced in November 2017, for which we will cut steel later this year, or whether it's the nine Hunter class Future Frigates that we'll build in Adelaide, with ASC shipbuilding cutting steel in 2020, the difference between those opposite and this government is that we are delivering. We have delivered on our commitments, and Labor has consistently failed to do so. (Time expired)