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Cabinet still undecided on submarine refit site

Cabinet has yet to decide whether Adelaide or Perth will be the site of scheduled rebuilds for Collins-class submarines.

Collins Class submarines HMAS Collins, HMAS Farncomb, HMAS Dechaineux and HMAS Sheean off the coast of Western Australia.
Collins Class submarines HMAS Collins, HMAS Farncomb, HMAS Dechaineux and HMAS Sheean off the coast of Western Australia.

Defence spent $14m on a plan to upgrade Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards that assumed scheduled rebuilds of the nation’s Collins-class submarines would be shifted to Perth, a Senate estimates hearing was told on Tuesday.

As South Australia and Western Australia fight it out to host the lucrative Collins-class upgrades, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said cabinet was yet to decide where the life-extension works would be undertaken.

The boat upgrades are worth an estimated $400m in annual economic activity to the winning state until the Collins boats are phased out in the 2050s.

Australian Naval Infrastructure chief executive David Knox said the shipyard plan had been prepared under the assumption that the so-called “full-cycle docking” to extend the submarines service lives would no longer be undertaken in Adelaide.

Mr Knox insisted the Osborne shipyard could accommodate the full-cycle docking of the Collins subs — which includes the removal of the main motor and ­diesel engines — while the next generation Attack-class submarines and Hunter-class frigates were also constructed there.

However, he was unable to produce a plan of the site showing the Collins work being retained at the yard, saying he needed 48 hours to procure one.

“We don’t have a diagram. We basically have a series of options … that would enable the works that would take place in the Collins shed to take place elsewhere,” he said.

The government-owned submarine builder acknowledged there was a risk that critical submarine engineers could be lost if the Collins full-cycle docking went to Perth.

ASC chief executive Stuart Whiley said there were also risks in undertaking the work at the ­Adelaide site.

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick pointed to a letter written by Attack-class sub project lead Admiral Greg Sammut in September 2017 advising prime contractor Naval Group to “assume” the Collins full cycle docking would shift to Perth after 2024.

Senator Cormann said “all ­options remain on the table”, and the government would make a decision on the matter by the end of the year. “So whatever communication may have happened between Defence and Naval Group, it’s not based on an assumption put forward by the government and it’s not put forward based on a decision by the government,” he said.

“This is not a government document. This is a Naval Group document. They are assessing this from their perspective.”

Senator Cormann said the decision of where the upgrades would occur would be made in the national interest.

“There is a whole range of factors to take into account,” he said.

A February 2019 report released under Freedom of Information laws to Senator Patrick said “the greatest risk” in shifting the work to Perth “is the loss of skill, knowledge and capability” to ensure the safety and capability of the Collins boats.

Former Naval Group CEO Brent Clarke stunned the Senate economics committee in 2017, saying Naval Group would “consume” ASC’s workforce, requiring a new workforce from scratch in WA to overhaul the Collins boats.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/cabinet-still-undecided-on-submarine-refit-site/news-story/c66be65a529888587012640ca36a9b7e