Substandard. The Auditor General’s verdict on Collins Class extension
· Michael West
The Auditor General’s report on Defence’s project to extend the life of the Collins Class submarines declares it a grand fail. Former submariner Rex Patrick on the report and its consequences.
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The report on the Collins Class extension project was published today. It’s damning.
The project has been so poorly managed that, in March, Defence recommended to the Government that it be scaled back to “refurbishing and maintaining existing systems” rather than redesigning and replacing obsolete equipment, as originally planned.
The stuff-ups along the way to that fundamental program shift include a detailed design contract, signed in 2022, that was amended 53 times and increased in cost from $125m to $813m, with an average 12-month delay for key design milestones.
In February this year, Defence had spent $693m in taxpayers’ money for a program that now faces cancellation.
But if you’re thinking someone’s going to get fired over this waste, don’t hold your breath. As is usual with failed Defence projects,
No one ever gets held to account for these things.
“Enhanced sustainment.” Collins Class subs to fight on – the true Budget hit
AUKUS implications
The audit report states the project was not managed in a way that was “commensurate with its complexity, risk profile and strategic purpose”.
As MWM readers know, AUKUS is a project that is also ‘complex’, has a significant ‘risk profile’ and has ‘strategic purpose’. Alarming, given its $368B price tag.
Senator David Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson on Defence, commented,
“This is what happens when you have a Defence establishment that fails time and time again, and relies on the unquestioning loyalty of Labor, the Coalition and One Nation.
It is an expensive cult that thrives off public money and the gravy train of AUKUS.
Will Defence or the Government change course with AUKUS? Sadly, no. Defence projects are only ever cancelled when it’s impossible to hide the train smash.
National security implications
There was never supposed to be a life of type extension for the Collins subs. The original future submarine program announced in 2009 was supposed to see delivery of a new sub last year and the retirement of the first Collins sub this year.
Defence screwed that up completely. Now they’ve screwed up the Life of Type Extension to fill the gap between ‘Collins original’ and the arrival of the first Virginia-class nuclear submarine from the US.
The Auditor stated, “[the Life of Type Extension] is critical to avoiding a submarine capability gap during the transition to nuclear‑powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership”.
But as Senator James Patterson, shadow Defence Minister, stated in a response to the audit’s findings, “Australia’s ageing Collins-Class submarine fleet is now expected to continue operational service until the late-2040s without materially upgrading its capabilities, allowing regional navies to surpass it until AUKUS submarines arrive.”
He’s right.
Collins is ageing, and like an ageing car, will get harder and costlier to keep running each year. Even now, when they do get to sea, they find themselves outclassed by several newer submarine types in the region: South Korean, Japanese, Singaporean and, dare I say, Chinese.
To make matters worse, the chance of Virginia Class submarines replacing Collins in accordance with the planned AUKUS schedule is remote, and there is absolutely no chance they’ll be delivered early.
“Defence is now stuck spending billions on experimental plans to keep the ageing Collins submarines in the water long enough for AUKUS to come good. It turns out that neither part of the plan is on track, and the multi-billion dollar cost is being borne by the Australian public,” said Senator Shoebridge.
SNAFU
Rudd talking the AUKUS talk in Washington, but is the US walking?