Minister for Defence Kevin Andrews has promised to adopt a cautious approach to the Future Submarine program.
Speaking when he visited ASC’s facilities in South Australia, Minister Andrews stated: “We have not made any decisions at this stage about the building of future submarines…we’ve not ruled anything in or out at this stage; it will go through the proper process. We will do it in a very cautious; from my perspective, we’ll do it in a conservative way, and we’ll make sure that we have the right decision for the defence of Australia and the other needs we need to take into account.”
He did not specify a timeframe for SEA 1000 when questioned as he toured the shipbuilding and submarine maintenance facilities.
“We haven’t got a specific timeline at this stage, and it’s always more important to get the right decision than to be meeting any artificial timeline,” Minister Andrews said. “That’s been my approach to every portfolio that I’ve held and will be the approach that I take in this portfolio as well.”