Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Defence Capability Assurance and Oversight Bill 2023. This bill isn't perfect; they never are. I note the concerns by contributors to the inquiry. But I will be supporting this legislation because it does go some way towards improving our defence procurement processes. I can tell you they desperately need improvement, and that's putting it politely. Defence is an absolute basket case when it comes to procurement, and a very, very expensive basket case at that.

Here are just a couple of examples. There's the Future Submarine project—$4 billion wasted on not getting a submarine—and the replacement nuclear submarine program, which is going to suck $368 billion from the defence budget. That's at the expense of other capabilities, and it will not deliver a sub until at least 2035, and I'm estimating it won't be delivered even then. It'll well and truly be over by then. The US military already predicts that China will seek to take back Taiwan in the next five years. Getting nuclear powered submarines halfway through the next decade is like putting together a great footy team after the grand final has actually been played. If conflict occurs in the Taiwan Strait and the government commits Australian forces, our submariners will be asked to go into a highly intense battle space in Collins class submarines that were supposed to be decommissioned from 2025. I know that the government is planning to extend the life of the Collins by upgrading its diesel engines, main motors and other platform systems. But recently, at Senate estimates, Defence conceded that it would not be possible to make the upgrades in the original two-year time frame and it's likely to take three or more years. Why does that not surprise me? Of course, that means the costs to the taxpayer out there will increase. Welcome to defence procurement, eh? You couldn't make this stuff up on Neighbours.

Then there's the Multi-Role Helicopter Program, another $3.8 billion wasted, and it was doubly wasted. Then there was the SkyGuardian, another cancelled program that has wasted 1.3 billion bucks and gone nowhere, and the Army's Battle Management System—there goes another billion bucks of taxpayers' money. The Spartan aircraft cost another $1.4 billion. The Tiger helicopter program cost another billion. But wait. There's more. I know. I really feel for you Australian taxpayers today. Then there's the Future Frigate Program, the program price of which went from $30 billion to $45 billion, and it looks like that may well be cancelled or scaled back. These are capabilities that either have not been received by us or have not met expectations. All this money has been wasted on capabilities that our frontline service men and women now have to do without. By the way, Defence has been asked to significantly increase the number of Defence Force personnel, but over the last five years those numbers have been going backwards.

Perhaps the best overall description of the waste in defence procurement comes from the Auditor-General's major project review. It's a shame it's not tomorrow, because tomorrow the Auditor will table his next Major projects report, and we'll be able to take a close look at his update. But in last year's report he detailed the fact that there have been 1,321 months of delay in major Defence programs. We often spend days in this chamber arguing over measures designed to save a few hundred million dollars, while over at Defence they're just shredding—and I mean shredding—billions upon billions of dollars in taxpayers' money. We have a rogue organisation—there is no nice way to put that—across the lake at Russell Offices. They take taxpayers' money and simply throw it away, with no accountability for their actions. What's new? There is no accountability for their actions, whether they are Defence or senior public servants, on waste of taxpayers' money. By the way, they still stay in their jobs. God! In fact, the truth is they're over there patting themselves on the back, saying what a great job they've done in wasting your money.

Also, while they're doing that, they're going: 'Whoa-ho! Let's nominate each other for the Order of Australia and other honours.' They love doing that stuff. Look at the Secretary of the Department of Defence. He just got one. He's responsible for the debacle I just described. Instead of punishing him, we give him medals. That's what we have done: we've given him medals. He, along with people like Major General Kathryn 'Robodebt' Campbell and Michael 'Political Text' Pezzullo, is devaluing the currency of these awards. That's what they're doing. These awards are worth—

There you go. Just give them awards. These awards—