The Defence Department is refusing to sign new contracts with French shipbuilder Naval Group over the troubled future submarine project, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton stamp their authority by demanding all major strategic decisions be routed through their offices. Sources have told The Australian Financial Review the Morrison government is refusing to pay Naval Group’s profit margin on the project..
..and is covering just the company’s costs, forcing the shipbuilder to shed contractors and threatening to see work grind to a halt.
The federal government and shipbuilder Naval Group are facing fresh trouble over the submarine project.
The increasingly bitter contractual wrangling comes as the $90 billion project faces fresh delays, with COVID-19 running rife through the French shipyard and infecting a significant number of Australian engineers and designers, forcing their offices to be closed for deep cleaning....MORE
