This government is responsible for the biggest national security bungle in decades with its mishandling of the Naval Group submarines contract. And Linda Reynolds isn’t the right person to fix it.
It was February 2015 when prime minister Tony Abbott faced the first test of his party numbers, triumphing over an empty chair 61-39. His disastrous prime ministership would limp on another seven months in increasing chaos and ever-growing numbers of flags before Malcolm Turnbull brought the farce to a close.
But Abbott’s weakness continues to resonate through politics six years later in the form of the biggest national security debacle since the Iraq war: the failure of the government’s submarine contract with Naval Group.
Abbott wanted the new subs built in Japan and committed to then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe that his country would get the contract. But with his leadership on the line and desperate for every vote, Abbott caved in to protectionist South Australian Liberals and agreed to a competitive tender process that would “give Australian suppliers a fair go”.
Read more about Australia’s disastrous submarines contract.
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