Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is the kind of government response we get to the dedication that is shown by our defence forces. The other kind of response we get was illustrated today by harking back to previous Labor governments—over 10 years ago, to the Collins class submarine. The government were able to dredge up one project to illustrate that perhaps a Labor government might not have been as good either.

Let me read what the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said about the Collins class submarine in their review of it. The review stated: ‘The Commonwealth’s $5 billion investment has not only provided Australia with a key strategic asset but also greatly boosted the skill base of our naval construction industry.’ That is precisely the point. There might have been cost overruns, although $5 billion looks pretty small now, I must say, compared with the blunders and overruns of the current government. The Labor government put this in place, built up our skills in Australia, created Australian jobs, Australian assets and Australian skills that have provided ongoing work for Australian workers. Senators stand up and try to defend cost overruns, saying: ‘We can’t control what they do in other countries. We can’t guarantee that other countries will deliver on time.’ What a pathetic response to a defence industry that is even more critical in today’s troubled times. I call on the government to put more effort into backing up the critical work that our defence personnel do in Australia.

Question agreed to.