Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

This is what is known as a 'capability gap'. As these ships age it is likely the amount of time they spend out of action will increase. These problems have been known about for years, but Labor did not even begin the necessary planning in government to replace them. Because of the need to replace them as soon as possible to avoid what would be a critical capability gap, in June 2014 the coalition government began a limited tender with two overseas shipbuilders to choose a proven design. Navantia has been selected as the preferred tenderer and negotiations have commenced with them.

Unlike those opposite, the Turnbull government is committed to ensuring our Navy is not left with a critical capability gap. You get a critical capability gap if you do nothing, and that is what Labor delivered us.