An increasingly desperate Prime Minister has clearly misled South Australia with his promise to conduct an open tender for Australias new submarine fleet.

In an attempt to secure votes for his faltering leadership, the Prime Minister told Liberal Senator Sean Edwards that submarine builder ASC would be allowed to bid for our Future Submarines.

Senator Edwards told the Adelaide Advertiser:

Im very pleased with the decision of the Prime Minister it now commits the Government to a full and open tender

Senator Edwards, Adelaide Advertiser 9 February 2015

But when asked to confirm this decision in the Senate, the Finance Minister said nothing about an open tender:

We are committed to go through proper process, which includes a competitive evaluation process.

Senator Cormann, Senate Question Time, 9 February 2015

The Finance Minister also refused to confirm that he was consulted about this Captains Pick.

And the Assistant Infrastructure Minister, South Australian Jamie Briggs said today:

The position today [on submarines] is the same as the position was last week and I am pleased Sean is happy about that.

Jamie Briggs, ABC Radio, 9 February 2015

This increasingly desperate Prime Minister and dysfunctional Government simply cant be believed when it comes to submarines.

The Treasurer claimed in December that there was no time for a proper tender process, while its clear that the Prime Minister wants Australias new submarine fleet built in Japan.

This decision is too important to be used as a bargaining chip in the Liberal leadership contest.

It is time for the confusion to stop and the Government to make a clear commitment to follow Labors policy, putting in place a proper competitive tender process for this multi-billion dollar project, including a funded project definition study.