John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, Senator Bob Carr. During Senate estimates in February this year, Senator Brandis ascertained from Defence officials that Australia had conducted no patrols in the Southern Ocean in 2012 and that the vessel ACV Ocean Protector, which can be used for those purposes, is being used in Australia's northern waters. Given the fact that our limited number of patrol vessels seriously affects our capacity to patrol our interests in the Southern Ocean, and given that BAE Systems has cautioned the government that it does not have sufficient workload to keep its current trained and skilled workers employed beyond the end of next year, can the minister outline what considerations have been taken towards bringing forward the funding and construction of the SEA 1180 offshore combatant vessels project?