A few days ago the ABC ran yet another story about yet another major blowout in the cost of yet another a major defence procurement contract.

Our Media Glass House teams will tell you that these stories have appeared regularly over the years, in fact every time a major defence contract is let our MGH teams set their watches – some literally – and wait for the cost blowout story to appear.

The latest story was based on a report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) that had run its ruler over what was originally meant to be a $35 billion contract announced in June 2018 by Malcolm Turnbull’s government to UK firm BAE Systems to provide nine new anti-submarine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. (main picture)

Apparently now, around five years after the contract was announced the expected delivery date of the first frigate has been pushed out from early 2013 to midway through 2032.

The cost had already jumped from the announced $35 billion to $45 billion by mid-2020 but now the ANAO reported that as at January this year “the project was forecast to exceed the whole of project budget approved by government by a significant amount”.

Our MGH researchers have often pondered why such blowouts happen.

The ANAO has laid the blame on the incompetence of the Defence Department.

The auditors found that Defence held an initial view that French or Italian bids for the project were preferable to the one from the Brits, but ended up going with the UK firm anyway.

The department apparently did not conduct a value-for-money assessment of the rival UK, French, and Italian frigate designs. Well, it was only $35 billion at stake wasn’t it, so why bother?

When stories like these break our MGH researchers also wonder if political interference or even political influence by the federal government or others play a role in rushed or faulty decisions that end up biting the nation and its taxpayers in the bum years later. Was this a factor in this latest frigate debacle?  

Was Defence under any pressure to rush a decision on the frigate deal so an announcement could be made?

“Surely defence should be a bipartisan issue?” our researchers asked themselves, before suddenly recalling Peter Dutton’s beating, or more correctly thrashing to bits, the war drums prior to the 2022 federal election.

But still, they asked, was political point-scoring a consideration back in 2018 when Malcolm Turnbull and his various ministers were making decisions on the frigate project or approving decisions taken by the Defence Department? Surely not.

But hang on, one researcher interjected, who’s that just behind the then PM in the happy snap the ABC used on its latest news item? (below)

The picture was taken at the announcement of the frigate deal in Adelaide (where they were to be built) and, yes, that face behind the Turnbull shoulder is Georgina Downer’s.

You may recall that Ms Downer (better known to readers of The Bug as Lady Downer, beloved daughter of Lord Downer of Adelaide Hills) who was the Liberal Party candidate in the by-election for the South Australian federal seat of Mayo.

The by-election campaign just happened to coincide with the big defence announcement, or perhaps vice versa.

Using defence as a political weapon? Nonsense!

Our MGH researchers are certain the contract announcement’s timing was just a coincidence and that Ms Downer just happened to be passing when the then PM thought it rude not to invite her in for a cup of tea.

After offering such an explanation all of our MGH researchers returned to staring out the window to wait for a pig or two to fly past.