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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-07-01 Daily Xml
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Techport Australia

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:34): The Abbott government says the ASC from Techport Australia in South Australia cannot even be trusted to build a canoe. On Saturday 23 May 2015, in front of hundreds of people, with a large media contingent, ASC launched the completion of the first of the air warfare destroyer project, or AWD. The project is worth $8 billion and will deliver three ships by mid-2019. The AWD is Australia's largest and most complex defence project to date, employing thousands of South Australians and contributing high-end manufacturing and system integration skills for our future.

We may not be able to build a canoe, according to the Abbott government, but certainly we can build the most advanced and complex ship ever built in Australia. I and many South Australians were outraged when the Abbott government, on the eve of the launch of the AWD, selectively quoted from a report that we did not even know existed. They leaked it to the press to allow them to attack what should be a proud moment for all Australians.

When building a first ship of any kind from a greenfields site, it is always going to be expensive. There are always going to be initial costs when building something from scratch. Training the workforce and ironing out issues through trial and error is perfectly normal. As you build the second, third and so on, productivity improves through greater capability, and then you get better cost effectiveness. It is a disgrace for the Abbott government to compare costs figures from this first ship to ships built overseas that are well into their building program. Chris Burns, CEO of the Defence Teaming Centre (the defence industry association), sent an email about the AWD launch, stating:

I had not anticipated that our own federal government would ambush the event by selectively quoting denigrating information on the project based on an unreleased 'forensic audit'. Like the 'White Winter Report', it appears the detail of the audit will not be released. It is impossible to argue the industry's case without access to the audit, particularly when it apparently uses 'interesting mathematics' and includes factors previously unused to evaluate project costs, like the cost of extending the life of current destroyers, the inclusion of costs for ASC facilities, missile purchases and training. It was a great shame that the Prime Minister was unavailable to attend the launch.

The PM was in Adelaide that week and could not be bothered hanging around to attend the launch scheduled for the next day. Once again, the Abbott government is trying to undermine South Australians and Australians in general by portraying that we cannot be trusted to build anything. Mr Abbott is laying the ground work to announce that the submarine projects will be built overseas.

I am beginning to realise that there is nothing the PM has said to suggest that he has changed his mind to build the new submarines in Australia. The competitive evaluation process was set up as a way to shore up the PM's vote if there was a leadership spill. This is not a normal tender process that is based on merit. Nobody seems to understand the process of this tender, not even the defence experts advising the government or even Mr Abbott's own MPs.

This is just a delaying tactic to ease the pressure from the Australian people that was being put on the Abbott government. With the sabotage of the launch of the AWD by the Abbott government, I am no longer of the belief that the new submarine project will be built in South Australia or Australia. What a shame! It will be just another 'captain's pick'.

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