‘Stupid games': Government keeps cost secret after Japan wins lucrative warships deal
The government announced on Tuesday that the Japanese firm had defeated German rival TKMS in a decision that has been widely applauded by the defence community.
Overcoming concerns about a lack of export experience, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won favour with its ultra-modern Mogami frigate, which was found to be a more advanced warship than German firm TKMS's Meko A-200 vessel.
Japanese officials have also said the United States backed its proposal as a way to boost collaboration among key Indo-Pacific partners.
TKMS sought to capitalise on the fact that it has sold ships to navies around the world, while modern Japan has no experience exporting warships, but this argument failed to overcome the perceived advantages of the Mogami.
Under the general purpose frigate program, Australia will acquire 11 upgraded Mogami-class frigates to replace the ageing Anzac-class frigates, which are regarded as the workhorse vessels of the Australian navy and are being gradually retired.
Recent navy projects have been riddled with cost blow-outs and delays, leading to the government's announcement last year that it would slash the number of Hunter-class frigates and offshore patrol vessels it planned to purchase in favour of ships with more firepower. An audit office report released in June blasted Defence Department's handling of maintenance for the navy's landing helicopter docks, finding they were beset by defects and failing to meet their availability targets.
The government's estimate that the AUKUS submarine program will cost up to $368 billion has fuelled critics' calls for Australia to seek a cheaper option for its future submarine fleet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
11 minutes ago
- West Australian
Mineral Resources non-executive director and former Test cricketer Justin Langer quits battling miner's board
Former Test cricketer Justin Langer is stepping down as a non-executive director of Mineral Resources with immediate effect, marking yet another exit from the miner's boardroom. In a statement to market on Wednesday, the former coach of the Australian men's cricket team said he was 'not in a position to continue to give the time and focus that I believe MinRes deserves'. His resignation from the board will take effect from today. He joined in late 2023 and had been serving on the ethics and governance committee among others. The exiting director said it had been a privilege to serve on the board 'during a period of significant challenges and change for the company.' 'I thank Chris Ellison and the Board for their understanding of my position and I look forward to observing MinRes enter its next chapter,' he said. His exit comes after that of his fellow non-executive directors Jacqueline McGill, Susie Corlett and Denise McComish, who all left the company in April. More to come.
Sky News AU
11 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Albanese government on the ‘pathway' to recognising Palestine
Sky News Political Contributor Chris Uhlmann discusses calls to push for recognition of a Palestinian state. Mr Uhlmann told Sky News Australia that the Albanese government is on the 'pathway' to recognising Palestine. 'I think that everything we've seen points in that direction.'
Perth Now
11 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Australian shares hit new highs as funds flow to miners
Australia's share market has surged to record highs as miners helped the bourse shrug off a weak Wall Street session to top 8,800 points for the first time. Buyers pushed the S&P/ASX200 up 53.6 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 8,824 in early trade, as the broader All Ordinaries surged 59.6 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 9,088.2. By midday the two indexes had eased to 8,818.6 and 9,084.3 points respectively. The morning rally came after the top-200's best-ever close on Tuesday, and flew past its previous intraday best of 8,776.4 on July 18, taking its combined market capitalisation to $2.9 trillion. The All Ordinaries, which includes the Australian Securities Exchange's top 500 companies, is now valued at $3.1 trillion. Helping the local bourse buck an overnight down-tick on Wall Street was Australia's relative lack of volatility-prone tech companies and an ongoing influx of funds into global miners, Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy said. "That came initially at the expense of the banks, but overall now it appears to be related to a particular desire and a re-weighting back into global miners because of an upward revision of the outlook for commodities," he told AAP. Nine of 11 local sectors were higher just before midday, with the heavily weighted financials and materials sectors up 0.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively. Gold prices continued to push higher, tracking with a lift in risk-off sentiment in US markets overnight, supporting Australian gold miners such as Newmont, which jumped 5.5 per cent to $17.21. Large cap miners BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto all made gains as iron ore prices held their ground at seven-week highs. Australia's most valuable company and the world's most expensive bank stock CBA led the big four, up 0.7 per cent to $178.54, roughly $13.50 short of its own record. owner REA Group was the top-200's best performer, surging 7.2 per cent after higher listing prices helped drive a 23 per cent lift in net profit after tax. News Corp, which owns a controlling stake in REA, also rallied more than seven per cent to $56.43 after growing its full-year revenues two per cent to $13 billion. Property investment trusts were up 0.9 per cent and building on Tuesday's gains, indicating continued confidence in a Reserve Bank interest rate cut at the central bank's meeting next Tuesday, Mr McCarthy said. Rate markets have priced-in a 25 basis point cut to the cash interest rate, but similar expectations fell flat in July after the central bank chose to err on the side of caution and hold steady at 3.85 per cent. The Australian dollar has edged higher against the greenback, buying 64.78 US cents, up from 64.60 US cents at 5pm on Tuesday.
