Hi Hasbeen

I reckon without the submarine decision (really about "spending $50 Billion in South Australia") Turnbull would have lost the whole election.

The LNP defanged much of the NXT and ALP criticism by making a definite submarine decision favouring Adelaide. Of the the 4 seats the Coalition retained in South Australia it could have easily lost 2 or 3 http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/results/

But I reckon Australia just needs 6 new subs - as it can only man 2 at any one time. The money to SA for an extra 6 is merely a political promise.

No new subs will be commissioned during the 2020s.

The 2016 Defence White Paper indicates that in 2029 the submarine decision is to be reviewed - maybe deciding 6 is enough.

Pete

The manning doesn't matter too much Pete, they can never get any 2 of them actually going at the same time to need more crew. Except engineers that can make them go that is.

They even had to decommission the old amphibious fleet, Manoora & Kanimbla because 2 of the 3 engineers who could make them go resigned, & the last one was injured.

Remember when one of them tried to run into north head. That was caused by inexperienced crew, who did not understand the ships & did not know how to use a garden hose.

There were some huge offers of special conditions to go to the subs, & they were even looking at contracting companies to supply civilian engineers. It all fell apart when no one would take it on.

My son was telling me of some of the catastrophes one time. When I murmured something about it being a good thing we still had the air force, he laughed. He said they'd had the air force on board, with their choppers. You could still see the deep gouges where they had crashed, & I had better hope the army was still useful.

"I wonder if it is too late to backtrack on that stupid sub decision. I don't think the fool actually bought a single vote with all that money of ours."

Given his persistent call for more innovation, it is surprising that Turnbull failed to practise what he preached, by settling for obsolete diesel-powered subs design instead of nuclear.

Another major blunder was to choose to build the subs in South Australia, the state that is going all out to have the world's highest energy prices, thanks to SA government ineptitude in rapidly phasing in inefficient, unreliable, renewable energy, at the expense of efficient, reliable coal-fired power

Hi Hasbeen

The Navy sounds like a bureaucracy of shiney bums, one jump ahead of disaster. A sunk sub or will HMAS Canberra do a Voyager in Sydney Harbour next?

The revolving door has momentum and Abbott is in the market again. The slogan works : uh, we stopped the boats..stop the boats. It's a captain's call and if he can't invade Iraq he can sink China's sand island smugglers. The possible dents in Australia's ship-hulls will be Operational secrets.

' The slogan works : uh, we stopped the boats..stop the boats. '

yep and Abbott did despite the regressives, every abc/sbc propagandist and every other hater saying it was impossible. You know the ' push factor.'

like a good regressive nicknamenic I suspect that despite egg all over your face instead of admitting you got it wrong you ignore the facts and continue to push your failed narrative.