Much of the Future Submarines work may be done overseas, despite earlier claims

DEFENCE has cast serious doubt on claims that 90 per cent of the $50 billion Future Submarines work would be done in Australia.

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CLAIMS that 90 per cent of the $50 billion Future Submarines work would be done in Australia have evaporated under inquisition.

The French designers DCNS have emphasised their willingness to do most of the work in Australia, mostly in Adelaide. DCNS chief executive officer Sean Costello said earlier this year that “over 90 per cent” of the work would be done in Australia. Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne repeated that claim.

Opposition innovation spokesman Kim Carr put those comments to Defence chiefs at Senate estimates yesterday.

Defence Secretary Dennis Richardson said it was too early to tell: “We’re not prepared to put a percentile on it. If others wish to, fine. But at this point we’re very much in the early phases of design work and it would be premature of us to make firm judgments about that at this point.”

Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne backed him up saying there was “a long way down this road to go”. “The government has not put a floor or a ceiling . . . on this process,” she said. “Our ambition is . . . to maximise Australian building and Australian content.”

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon pointed to reports that French unionists have been agitating for more work to stay in France, to which Mr Richardson repeated that they were “not in a position to lay down a percentile”.

Also yesterday, Labor accused the Coalition of only appointing Christopher Pyne to the Defence Industries portfolio to “shore up support in South Australia”.

“You’ve made this division to give South Australians some reassurance on submarines,” Labor Senator Don Farrell said to Senator Payne.

After the election the Government split the Defence portfolio, shifting the $89 billion ship and submarine building work under Mr Pyne instead of Senator Payne. That sparked reports of a turf war.

Senator Payne said they were just “cracking on with the job” and were “both Cabinet ministers”, but later said she would have to take the question on notice.

In Question Time Mr Pyne was asked who the senior minister was – he said it was an extraordinary question in the context of the Australian Defence Force fighting in Syria and Iraq.

“The first question ever (Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles) can think of to ask me … is such a trivial matter,” he said.

Defence also faced questions over having new uniforms made in China. Mr Richardson said all five companies that had tendered for the job would outsource overseas.

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