Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence. Will the minister now undertake to fulfil his clear election promise to build 12 new submarines at ASC in South Australia?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have been saying for a long time, the one really important ingredient that is missing from the Leader of the Opposition's case in this place is truth, because she has had my transcript and she knows very well that I said that the Labor Party's policy involves option 3 and option 4 and that we would support that going forward unless it was fantasy. But she conveniently never says that. And guess what: it was fantasy—and she never puts that undertaking in context.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Have you read Shanahan?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, have you read standing orders?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I sought to do was to take the politics out of this program, by saying, 'We agree with the government,' presuming that they had actually done something, presuming that all the talk, the doorstops, the splash, the politics, the rhetoric, actually was in front of something of substance. But of course, upon getting the portfolio, I found it was a complete charade. It was in fact a Walt Disney design. It was in fact a complete fantasy. And we have had to start from square one. Why will you not, Senator Wong—through you, Mr President—ever talk the truth about this project?