Scott Morrison hits back at French president, saying he did knew there were doubts over submarine contract
Scott Morrison has hit back at French President Emmanuel Macron’s claims of lying, saying he knew there were problems with the submarine contracts.
SA News
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SCOTT Morrison has fired back at Emmanuel Macron, declaring he would not cop his “sledging” of Australia after the French President accused the Prime Minister of lying over his decision to rip up a $90bn submarine contract.
He also tipped a bucket on the efforts of France’s Naval Group to deliver the conventional diesel submarines the federal government had ordered, saying the project had been riddled with delays and cost blowouts and had “few friends” in Australia.
A day after Mr Macron’s extraordinary claims about Mr Morrison’s integrity, the Prime Minister held a press conference at a shipyard in Glasgow to detail his private conversations and text messages with Mr Macron.
“I think the statements that were made questioning Australia’s integrity, and the slurs that have been placed on Australia – not me, I’ve got broad shoulders, I can deal with that – but those slurs, I’m not going to cop sledging of Australia,” he said.
Mr Morrison said that 18 months ago, he became concerned about the “very significant challenges” facing the French contract, also including Naval’s struggles to meet Australia’s content requirements.
He said he raised these issues at “each opportunity” he had to speak with Mr Macron.
In June, Mr Morrison met US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to advance plans for the new AUKUS defence partnership that would give Australia access to America’s nuclear submarine technology.
Mr Morrison said Mr Macron had sought a meeting in Paris before then, but he waited to visit him for dinner after seeing Mr Biden and Mr Johnson “because I needed to share with him where Australia’s thinking was”.
“I made it very clear that a conventional diesel-powered submarine was not going to meet Australia’s strategic requirements,” the Prime Minister said.
He said he told Mr Macron that his government believed the French boats may not be finished until 2038.
“That would mean that this submarine, when it went in the water, would be obsolete almost the minute it got wet,” Mr Morrison said.
A contract gate that was due to be passed in December last year still had not been met.
In the aftermath of that meeting, Mr Morrison said Mr Macron dispatched a French admiral to Australia as his defence system “engaged in a full court press” to try and sort out the contract
issues.
By September, when the AUKUS plan was locked in, Mr Morrison said he tried to call Mr Macron to directly inform him of his decision to rip up the contract.
But he said the French President did not make himself available, and sent him a text message expressing concern about whether the contract “would be proceeding or not”.
The Prime Minister declared he had no regrets and that Australia’s defence interests had to come first.
On Monday morning at the G20 conference in Rome, Mr Macron said, “I don’t think, I know”, when asked by journalists if he thought Mr Morrison had lied to him about the cancellation of the subs contract.
Mr Macron added: “The AUKUS deal was very bad news for France – but not just for France, because I think it’s very bad news for (the) credibility of Australia and very bad news for the trust that great partners can have with the Australians.
“I think this is detrimental to the reputation of your country and your Prime Minister.”
Mr Macron said he remained respectful of Australians and our contribution to the two world war efforts.
Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was quick to put the matter in perspective. “We didn’t steal an island, we didn’t deface the Eiffel Tower. It was a contract,” he said.
“And contracts have terms and conditions, and one of those terms and conditions and propositions is that you might get out of the contract.”
Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has unceremoniously told Emmanuel Macron to “get over” his disappointment over a scrapped submarine deal, insisting Australia “didn’t deface the Eiffel Tower”.
“We didn’t steal an island. We didn’t deface the Eiffel Tower. It was a contract. And contracts have terms and conditions and one of those terms and conditions and propositions is that you might get out of the contract.
Mr Macron stopped to speak to Australian reporters at the G20 summit in Rome, and when asked if he could trust the Prime Minister again, he said: “We will see what he will deliver.”
“I have a lot of respect for your country, a lot of respect and friendship for your people. I just say when we have respect, you have to be true and you have to behave in line and consistent with this value,” Mr Macron said.
Mr Macron said under the original contract, Australia would have been able to produce conventional submarines “with a clear and reliable time”.
“Now, you have 18 months before a report. Good luck,” he said.
The Prime Minister has interacted several times with Mr Macron in Rome but did not ask for a bilateral meeting, having acknowledged that the relationship would take some time to repair.
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