Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note the minister said that we argued the toss. I think in fact I agreed with his proposition that the only place we could sell the Seasprite was to a landlocked country, given that it could not fly over water. More importantly, can the minister explain why the announcement today did not include a delivery timetable for the 34 additional helicopters? Is the government softening us up for more delay, given that the first 12 MRH helicopters—announced, I might add, as a major counterterrorism initiative by the Prime Minister in 2004—are already 12 months late?