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SENATOR PENNY WONG
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE
SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
SENATOR STEPHEN CONROY
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
DAVID FEENEY MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS
MEMBER FOR BATMAN
An increasingly desperate Prime Minister has clearly misled South Australia with his promise to conduct an open tender for Australia’s new submarine fleet.
In an attempt to secure votes for his faltering leadership, the Prime Minister told Liberal Senator Sean Edwards that submarine builder ASC would be allowed to bid for our Future Submarines.
Senator Edwards told the Adelaide Advertiser:
“I’m very pleased with the decision of the Prime Minister— it now commits the Government to a full and open tender”Senator Edwards, Adelaide Advertiser 9 February 2015
But when asked to confirm this decision in the Senate, the Finance Minister said nothing about an open tender:
“We are committed to go through proper process, which includes a competitive evaluation process.”Senator Cormann, Senate Question Time, 9 February 2015
The Finance Minister also refused to confirm that he was consulted about this Captain’s Pick.
And the Assistant Infrastructure Minister, South Australian Jamie Briggs said today:
“The position today [on submarines] is the same as the position was last week and I am pleased Sean is happy about that.”Jamie Briggs, ABC Radio, 9 February 2015
This increasingly desperate Prime Minister and dysfunctional Government simply can’t be believed when it comes to submarines.
The Treasurer claimed in December that there was no time for a proper tender process, while it’s clear that the Prime Minister wants Australia’s new submarine fleet built in Japan.
This decision is too important to be used as a bargaining chip in the Liberal leadership contest.
It is time for the confusion to stop and the Government to make a clear commitment to follow Labor’s policy, putting in place a proper competitive tender process for this multi-billion dollar project, including a funded project definition study.