Defence Minister Marise Payne has contradicted her South Australian colleague Simon Birmingham and has once again thrown the Future Submarines project into chaos.
The Liberals went to the last election promising to build 12 Future Submarines in Adelaide. After more than two and a half years, South Australians are still waiting to find out where the Future Submarines will be built.
Just weeks ago, Senator Simon Birmingham promised South Australians that an announcement on where the Future Submarines will be built would be made before the election:
By the time we go to the next electionit will be crystal clear whose design it will be, who the international partner will be, how and where they will be built
SIMON BIRMINGHAM ABC891 2 MARCH 2016
Yet Minister Payne has refused to back Senator Birminghams promise, saying only that a decision will be made sometime this year:
I have consistently said the decision will be made in 2016
MARISE PAYNE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER 17 MARCH 2016
Its time for the Government to stop playing politics with the Future Submarines and to be upfront with South Australians.
Malcolm Turnbull and Marise Payne must live up to the Liberals pre-election promise to build 12 submarines in Adelaide.
This follows revelations during Senate Estimates last week where Defence officials could not explain when the 500 new jobs promised by the Government as part of the Future Submarines build would start or how many would be based in Adelaide.
Officials also refused to confirm if any of the 1,000 jobs promised in the Defence White Paper to sustain the Australian shipbuilding industry would be in South Australia saying it does not say 1,000 jobs in Adelaide.
This is cold comfort for the dwindling workforce at ASC in Adelaide which has already shed close to 1,000 jobs.
Labor has repeatedly called on the Government to honour its pre-election promise to build 12 submarines in South Australia.
Unlike the Turnbull Government, South Australians know exactly what they will get under a Shorten Labor Government 12 submarines built in South Australia.