Election 2022: ‘Son of Collins’ submarines dead in the water

The Defence Minister and his opposition counterpart have both ruled out an interim ‘Son of Collins’ submarine to guard against a capability gap.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton, right, and Labor defence spokesman Brendan O'Connor. Picture: Jane Dempster

Calls for a new “Son of Collins” submarine have been torpedoed by both Defence Minister Peter Dutton and his opposition counterpart Brendan O’Connor, leaving a ­potential capability gap ahead of the arrival of Australia’s first nuclear-powered subs in the late 2030s or early 2040s.

In the 2022 election defence portfolio debate at the National Press Club on Thursday, the two men vying to be the next defence minister left open the prospect that the first one or two of the nuclear boats might have to be built offshore, while neither would commit to a funding boost for ­Defence to prevent its budget being eroded by rampant inflation.

The “khaki election” debate on Thursday was a rhetoric-filled contest without major hits or misses, as Mr Dutton warned Labor would jeopardise national security, and Mr O’Connor backed the Coalition’s policies while attacking its delivery of key capabilities.

Mr Dutton declared a “third class of submarines” was off the table under the Coalition, and he was confident the first of the AUKUS submarines could be ­delivered “much sooner” than ­anticipated.

In the meantime, he said Australia could rely on the six Collins-class boats, which had a “stealth-like capability which makes it the equal of the US and the UK boats”.

The Collins boats are all due to receive life-extending upgrades but will retire from service from 2038, prompting ex-submariners and industry players to call for an interim conventional submarine.

Mr O’Connor said Labor agreed a third submarine class would be problematic and “may not be needed”. He said other capabilities such as additional Hobart-class destroyers could fill any capability gap under an ­Albanese government.

“There might be other things … It’s very difficult from opposition to make decisions on some of those most significant complex contracts,” he said.

Neither would commit to additional defence funding to prevent the erosion of the department’s budget due to rampant inflation, but Mr O’Connor backed the government’s minimum defence spending benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP.

Mr Dutton said the Coalition was “committed to building a larger, stronger, and better-equipped Australian Defence Force”, and warned Labor would do what it did when it was last in government when it cut defence funding to 1.56 per cent of GDP.

He said he stood by his accusation that China was backing Labor to win the election, citing WeChat activity and alluding to intelligence briefings, and claiming President Xi Jinping “would be laughing under his breath” at the prospect of a Labor win.

“Our country faces a very uncertain time and now is not a time to risk a change of government to a weak government at the next election,” Mr Dutton said.

The debate was a rhetoric-filled contest without serious hits or misses on either side.