The Government has been left red-faced on its delivery of the country’s largest-ever shipbuilding program with the Australian National Audit Office’s scathing report raising concerns about how the $89 billion shipbuilding plan is being managed.

Included in the Naval Construction Program report were concerns about high levels of risk to the program; including in costs, delivery and delays.

The report shows the Liberals:

• chose a winner for the Offshore Patrol Vessel tender without knowing how much it would cost;
• made decisions about the Future Frigate program timeline that

“..presented such extreme risk that cost and schedule over-run was likely, and that to proceed on the current schedule had the potential for severe reputational damage to Defence and the Government.”;

• have blown out the cost of the first phase of the Naval Shipbuilding College in Adelaide by 250%, and haven’t provided any ongoing funding; and
• have no real plan for our shipbuilding workforce.

This comes only days after Austal was excluded from the $3 billion Offshore Patrol Vessel contract, showing how badly the Government has managed this project.

What we are seeing is a Government that has been more concerned about shoring up support for the Liberals in Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne’s home state of South Australia than in the best interest of the nation.

Despite Western Australia’s key proximity to Asia and the Middle East, despite the expertise and world-class facilities in place, WA has largely missed out on a share of the national program because of these political motives.

The ANAO report shows that the hastily made decisions of this Government are now putting not only the future of WA’s shipbuilding industry at risk, but the entire Naval Construction Program and its potential for this country in jeopardy too.