AUKUS submarines to add $100 billion to defence bill

Defence Minister Richard Marles said problems with major projects were “not the fault of the Department of Defence”, an argument countered by the Coalition.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said that “departmental secretaries and departments have responsibility as well” as politicians when key projects go awry.

“Their task is to operationalise the projects that we select,” he said.

Hastie said the opposition was “not interested in history wars, we’re interested in preparing for wars of the future”.

New figures release by the government show the biggest contributor to the $6.5 billion cost blowout is the F-35A joint strike fighter program, which is expected to cost $2.4 billion more than the $16 billion originally estimated.

The acquisition of a fleet of Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft was the second-biggest factor, coming in at $1.8 billion over the original estimate.

The purchase of a fleet of helicopters has had the biggest blowout in terms of time, running over a decade behind schedule.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Marles said the government would pursue “an activist management of defence procurement going forward”.

“Defence needs to justify every dollar it spends,” he said, vowing to take the blame for problems with future projects.

“We accept the responsibility of government, and we do so going forward,” he said.

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“It’s not ultimately for departments to stand here and accept responsibility for government performance. It is ministers. And we understand that’s what it is to be a minister.”

The government will also have to find money to pay for a promised 18,500 additional personnel for the Australian Defence Force and Defence civilian workforce in the years to 2040.

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