David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The simple answer to the senator—if he had any real understanding of this portfolio—is that we urgently require two replenishment ships, because for six years they did nothing. When we came to power—and the reason for the air warfare destroyer problem is actually sitting at the opposition leader's table—we promised we would build three air warfare destroyers. After two rebaselinings and a productivity level that is off the planet—we set it at 80 man hours per tonne—what do you think ASC are delivering on? One hundred and fifty man hours per tonne. This is not a blank cheque from the taxpayer. If the senator understood that a 20,000-tonne or 26,000-tonne vessel cannot be built in the Hunter or down at Williamstown—because the only place we can build a 6,000-tonne air warfare destroyer is in Adelaide—he would realise that we have two ships yet to be constructed; there is nowhere to build them; and there is no productivity at the moment justifying such an outlay. You want—