Tony Abbott offers $30b to Adelaide to untangle submarine mess

TONY Abbott promises Adelaide at least $30 billion worth of work as he tries to untangle government’s submarine contracts mess.

PM Tony Abbott Visit to Pak Fresh Handling presser

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott today promised Adelaide at least $30 billion worth of submarine work as the Government tries to untangle its damaging statements on the massive defence purchase.

Mr Abbott said most or all of the construction of the 12 submarines would be done overseas with the total project to cost around $50 billion over 30 years.

However, he said two-thirds of that cost would include post-construction maintenance worth about $30 billion, which could be done at Adelaide’s ASC facilities.

“The ASC has already said they cannot design and build a submarine from scratch in South Australia,” Mr Abbott told reporters.

He said the project was “not all that different from building a space probe”.

Incoming ... Defence Minister Kevin Andrews made a hash of the Government’s earlier attempt to explain the government position on the submarines contract. Picture: Jay Town

The Prime Minister appeared to underline his preferred head contractor when he said Japan made “the best large conventional submarines in the world”.

He said the Government wanted “the best possible sub at the best possible price with maximum Australian involvement in the construction and maintenance.”

He was in Adelaide to repair the political damage caused last week by Defence Minister Kevin Andrews said the contract would be let after a “competitive evaluation process”, a term unknown too many in the defence industry.

It was seen as a ploy to shut the ASC out of a contract bid and there was a backlash against the Government and the local Liberals.

Defence Minister Andrews minutes earlier had announced ab tender process which would give the Government a shortlist of three builders to chose from.