THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP SHADOW DEFENCE MINISTER

TRANSCRIPT DOORSTOP INTERVIEW, WA LIBERAL STATE COUNCIL, PAN PACIFIC HOTEL

SATURDAY 11 JUNE 2022

E&OE…

THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP: Labor Defence Minister, Richard Marles, has sent some very concerning signals this week. He sent bad signals to the US and the UK that we're not serious about delivering nuclear submarines and AUKUS in a timely manner. And he sent a bad signal to our would-be adversaries that we're not interested in delivering a nuclear submarine in a timely manner. And now today, Anthony Albanese has announced an $830 million settlement with the French Naval group around the French submarines. Mr. Albanese needs to explain how $830 million is “fair and equitable,” and he needs to explain to the Australian taxpayers how he got to that figure. He also needs to stop being loose with the truth. He quoted a $5.5 billion figure. It was actually $2.5 billion spent thus far. So, the saving he's talking about is just plain wrong. I'll take any questions now.

JOURNALIST: Was this negotiated prior to the election?

ANDREW HASTIE: There are private conversations with Defence. But this is a settlement that Mr. Albanese has come to, and he needs to explain to the Australian taxpayers how $830 million is a “fair and equitable” agreement.

JOURNALIST: Was that $830 million dollar figure on par with what the previous government was negotiating?

ANDREW HASTIE: We were aiming for a significantly lower figure.

JOURNALIST: Around what -

ANDREW HASTIE: I'm not going to go into discussions but the $5.5 billion figure that Anthony Albanese is suggesting is wrong and he's being loose with the truth. $2.5 billion was the figure given to Senate estimates this year.

JOURNALIST: Did the Coalition delay discussions with Naval to ensure [inaudible] before the election -

ANDREW HASTIE: Did they delay?

JOURNALIST: ... delay the negotiations with Naval to ensure that this wasn't finalised before the election?

ANDREW HASTIE: I wasn't privy to those discussions.

JOURNALIST: What figure do you think should have been paid out in compensation for [inaudible]?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, the figure - we need to get the best deal for Australia. That's what Scott Morrison did as Prime Minister when he struck the AUKUS agreement with President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This was about securing Australia's future, and with nuclear submarines and the trilateral framework which will deliver a whole range of benefits including cutting edge military technology to keep this country safe into the future. And Richard Marles seems to be crab walking away from AUKUS right now, he sent bad signals out this week about his commitment to delivering nuclear submarines within the next 20 years. And he's even talking about an interim diesel-powered submarine. That sends a very bad signal to our allies and our would-be adversaries, that we're not serious about delivering nuclear submarines in a timely manner.

JOURNALIST: How does the Coalition respond to comments from Prime Minister Albanese that this is the fruits of waste by the former government?

ANDREW HASTIE: Look, we delivered AUKUS. We signed the biggest defence and foreign policy agreement since ANZUS in 1951. This is hugely significant, delivering Australia the latest nuclear submarines once they are built and delivered, absolutely critical to our deterrence strategy to protect us in the future, and we stand by that achievement. Mr. Marles now has to get on with it. His every waking thought should be how he can deliver those nuclear submarines in a timely fashion. When he wakes up in the morning he should be thinking about nuclear submarines. When he goes to bed at night he should be thinking about nuclear submarines. He should be dreaming about nuclear submarines. He needs to get on with the job, commit to AUKUS and stop talking about interim capability gaps and diesel-powered submarines. The Chief of Navy himself has said we cannot operate three submarines in the Royal Australian Navy, it's just too much.

JOURNALIST: This has now cost taxpayers $3.4 billion and no outcome, how does the Coalition justify that?

ANDREW HASTIE: We have delivered the biggest defence agreement since ANZUS. AUKUS is going to deliver Australian nuclear submarines. The task now for Mr. Albanese and Richard Marles is to deliver those submarines. And I'll be holding them to account. Peter Dutton, the opposition leader will be holding them to account, and we'll be on this every single day.

JOURNALIST: Is it an embarrassing legacy for the previous government that taxpayers did pay so much money for submarines [inaudible]?

ANDREW HASTIE: I'm very proud of AUKUS. I'm very proud of AUKUS, what we have delivered. It's very rare you get the Prime Minister of Australia, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of the United States in a joint press conference, announcing something as significant as AUKUS. It’s a great legacy. It's been set up for Labor, they now have to deliver on it.

JOURNALIST: Mr Dutton said that the former government was in the process of purchasing two submarines. What can you tell us about that?

ANDREW HASTIE: Mr. Dutton made clear this week in an opinion piece that he was in the business of negotiating, potentially two submarines off the production line from Electric Boat in Connecticut, two of the Virginia class submarines, which would be delivered within the decade. That would put us in a really strong position, and then eight submarines would follow. Mr. Dutton made this point because Richard Marles came out this week in an interview with the ABC, he said we'd left Defence in a disgrace, which is so far from the truth. We are growing defence 20,000 personnel in the next 15 years, we have committed $270 billion for new capability, from submarines, to cyber, to missiles, among other things. We've left a very good legacy, and the task for the Albanese government is to take what we've left them and to continue on and deliver these nuclear submarines.

JOURNALIST: There's a major operation gap now between now and when the new fleet will actually arrive. Do your previous government take responsibility for that delay we're going to see now?

ANDREW HASTIE: Our Collins class submarines are still regionally superior. But as Mr. Dutton has made clear, by 2035, it's going to be a far more contested and competitive environment. Which is why he had planned to bring forward the purchase of nuclear submarines from the United States, and Mr. Marles has to get on with the job. Talking about introducing another interim submarine is just ridiculous. We need to get on with the task of delivering nuclear submarines.

JOURNALIST: Can we talk about, well, you guys are holding your State Council meeting this morning, can we talk about issues within the Liberal Party itself? There was quite a defeat here in WA in the Federal election. Is that something you guys are addressing right now?

ANDREW HASTIE: Absolutely. We're talking about it because we're going to rebuild this party. Restoration follows ruin. But much of the policy discussions and the party discussions are behind closed door. And that's something that our State President Richard Wilson will address. There'll be a significant postmortem here in WA and also nationally. But we need to examine ourselves. We need to work out where we went wrong. And we need to rebuild because in 1000 days, we're going to have a state election here in WA, and we're going to have a federal election and we need to be ready.

JOURNALIST: What do you think you can do to be more ready for that?

ANDREW HASTIE: Well, we're talking about reform within the party, which I support wholeheartedly, and we're going to, you know, well, I'm looking forward to getting the state conference and delivering on some of these things.

JOURNALIST: What kind of reforms are discussed today?

ANDREW HASTIE: I can't talk about party deliberations in sight. But I can say that reform is on the agenda, and I'm a big supporter of it because I think we need to demonstrate to the Australian public that we are a party that is modern, and that we can reform ourselves and make ourselves more electable in the future.

JOURNALIST: Should Mr Goiran and Mr Collier remain in the Party?

ANDREW HASTIE: Everyone can remain in the Party. We are a democratic grassroots organisation. There are rules of course, everyone is obliged to follow those rules. And at this stage, we need to come together, unify, and get on with the job of winning State and the Federal election. I'll leave it there. Thanks very much.

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