Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I hope that we do not have to commit this one to a vote, because I am expecting unanimous support for this position. I think a handshake deal done by former Prime Minister John Howard in a Washington hotel room bypassed all Defence's normal procurement processes for one of the largest acquisitions in Australian military history. We can perhaps thank former defence minister John Faulkner for only committing us to two of these fighter jets, but this motion that the Senate will shortly put to the vote commits Australia to cancelling this disastrous program, which is vastly over budget. These aircraft can barely fly, you cannot put them within 25 miles of a storm in case the oxygen tanks explode, the software is buggy and the price has tripled. We do need to commit to an urgent inquiry into what should fill the capability gap, but I think we should commit at this point to simply abandon this disastrous, botched procurement process and pursue alternative courses of action.