Dennis Richardson says there has been no change in timing and the real risk would be trying to rush the entry into service of the new subs

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Tony Abbott’s claim that the introduction of Australia’s next generation of submarines were delayed under the Turnbull government’s defence white paper, and that they could have been safely brought into service more quickly, has been categorically rejected by the secretary of the defence department, Dennis Richardson.



The Turnbull government was rocked on Wednesday by a leak of sections of the draft defence white paper which purported to show that under Malcolm Turnbull and his defence minister, Marise Payne, the entry into service of a replacement for the ageing Collins-class fleet had been delayed by “nearly a decade”.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, who has strenuously denied being the source of the leak to his friend, journalist Greg Sheridan, was quoted in the story in the Australia saying he was “not just disappointed” but also “flabbergasted” by the delay. The leak is now the subject of an Australian federal police investigation.

But in evidence to Senate estimates on Thursday, Richardson said there had been no delay at all, no change in timing from the Abbott era to the Turnbull era and that the real risk would be posed by trying to rush the entry into service of the new generation of submarines.

Asked whether there had been any change in the scheduled introduction date, Richardson replied “no”.

“The advice from the Department of Defence to government with respect to the timing of the future submarine project has been consistent over the past three years,” he said.

“Our advice has been that the risks of bringing forward or rushing the future submarine project would outweigh the risks of extending the life of the Collins class. You rush a project like that at your own peril, that is the advice we have consistently received from anyone in the world private or public who has been involved in design and constructing submarines,” Richardson said.

Former defence minister Kevin Andrews said in a press release last February that the first of the new Collins-class submarines would be ready by the mid-2020s and according to Sheridan, the draft defence white paper, prepared for the Abbott government, said the new submarines would “begin entering service in the late 2020s”.

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But Richardson said advice from the Department of Defence “has been consistent over the last three or so years ... I was not aware of a single professional view in defence which supported the mid 20s.”

“We had passed the point in 2015 where the professional advice we received would support seeking to have your first future submarine in service by the mid-20s,” he said.

The leak of the highly classified defence information has deeply angered Turnbull government ministers, who are now openly complaining of white-anting and undermining by Tony Abbott, his supporters and backers.

Richardson’s testimony confirmed and expanded on Turnbull’s statement to parliament on Wednesday when he said the defence department’s “advice to the government since 2013 has been that it was highly unlikely the first of the future submarines could be delivered by 2026, and an extension of life for the Collins-class submarine would almost certainly be required”.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the leak to the Australian must be “investigated without fear or favour”.

The industry minister, Christopher Pyne, said on Wednesday the leak was of “a highly classified document. There are no more classified documents than ones that are in the national security committee, and therefore government will take this leak to the Australian very seriously”.

Guardian Australia also revealed on Thursday that Andrews had sought to appoint a long-serving adviser to a key defence force position during the time between the Turnbull leadership coup and the new leader announcing Andrews would be losing his ministerial position.

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Senior sources said Andrews, a loyal supporter of Abbott who was widely tipped to lose his ministerial spot after the leadership change, sought to appoint his long-term adviser to the position of inspector general of the Australian defence force during the six days between the 14 September leadership ballot and the 20 September announcement of the new Turnbull ministry.

Under the new defence minister, Marise Payne, the appointment did not proceed.

Labor’s defence spokesman, Stephen Conroy, said it was “very concerning that a minister sought to appoint his senior staffer apparently without proper process”.