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The words "failure" and "defence procurement" keep coming back to haunt us. Yesterday, it was Defence Minister Richard Marles having a swipe at the previous government for its mishandling of submarine procurement. "The former government's handling of national security, specifically defence procurement and specifically the procurement of submarines was one of the worst failures in defence procurement that we have seen in our history," he told Radio National.

Hang on, though. Stories about defence procurement failures have been on high rotation down through the decades - and they've routinely passed problems from one government to the next. There was the FFG 01-04 frigate program initiated by the Whitlam government and inherited by the Fraser administration. Concerned about low local productivity and industrial unrest, a contract was signed to build the first two frigates at a shipyard in Seattle. By the time all frigates were delivered, there were cost overruns and expensive retrofits.

The Super Seasprites debacle was a doozy. In 1997, the Howard government ordered 11 upgraded Super Seasprites from US company Kaman for the Royal Australian Navy. About 40 deficiencies were identified with the chopper, most notably its inability to operate in low light or bad weather - not too useful when you're hunting subs out over the open ocean.

Last year, the Morrison government announced it would retire the entire fleet of trouble-plagued MRH-90 Taipan helicopters 16 years ahead of schedule. The MRH-90 was ordered by the Howard government to replace the Blackhawk helicopter. It was plagued by maintenance issues. The problem was inherited by the Rudd-Gillard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments. The Morrison government said enough is enough and scrapped the fleet. We're going back to the Blackhawk.

Then, of course, there was the Collins class submarine. It's the troubled boat that has led us to where we are today - in the middle of a capability gap because our new nuclear submarines are unlikely to be delivered until 2040.

Defence procurement is a complex business. It's not like whipping down to Bunnings to pick up an orbital sander. Technology always seems to creep ahead of the kit you're intending to buy. Order the ship or plane one year and the next there's a whizzbang new combat system that renders your original order obsolete. So costly and sometimes disastrous redesigns are needed. Delivery times blow out, budgets go kaboom!

Politics comes into play, too. How much economic benefit will a multibillion dollar contract be to Australia? Are there more pressing needs around, like social housing for instance? At the end of the day, the primary responsibility of any government - blue, red, green, teal - is the security of the nation. Girt by sea as we are, maritime defence is fundamental to our security. So it's important we get it right.

Marles rightly criticises the former government for its mishandling of the submarine contract with France. (The French president's scathing characterisation of Morrison as a liar probably helped dislodge the former PM.) But he should also be mindful these complex and expensive defence contracts often outlive governments and avoiding procurement headaches is pretty well impossible.

The blame game will only work for so long. Labor is sticking with the AUKUS arrangement, which comes with a fleet of nuclear-powered (not armed) subs some time in the future. So it needs to act like a government and get on with the job. We know the other mob messed up. Just make sure you don't too.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think we spend too much on defence - or not enough? Are there too many failures in defence procurement or are they the nature of the beast? Do you support our move to nuclear-powered submarines? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

- Governor-General David Hurley has apologised following backlash over his endorsement of a builder who renovated his private Canberra home. The Governor-General and his wife Linda appeared in a now-removed video posted to Homes by Howe's Instagram in December 2020.

- Gig economy workers could soon have minimum standards enforced by the wages umpire, under a proposal by the federal government. The government said it would look to extend the powers of the Fair Work Commission to set rates of minimum pay for workers in areas such as ride-share or food-delivery services.

- Around 600 beehives have been destroyed and eight properties infected as NSW attempts to stop the spread of the varroa mite, with authorities confident of containing the outbreak. About 440 beekeepers are impacted while the eradication zone has been expanded to about 25km north of Newcastle where the mite, which is deadly to bees, was first detected.

THEY SAID IT: "Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack." - Sun Tzu

YOU SAID IT: "With regards accepting diversity, the Cadbury ad showing a young girl buying a chocolate with buttons from a good-hearted Middle Eastern shopkeeper has done more to improve cultural tolerance than any number of the manifold committees, suburban groups and politicians who have been wasting their time for years." - Ross

"I'm surprised that in the Lyne electorate German was the most often spoken language at home after Straylian. Population increase was thankfully blunted by COVID - huge opportunity to develop a more sustainable strategy for all of us rather than continuing the fast track back to feudalism. The increase in those who have 'no religion' - I think this is a great asset to the country and shows the evolved nature of thought by Australians - power seeking and discord under the guise of religious belief is evil. Great stuff Echidna." - S

"Why was there nothing in the census about LGBTQI people? It's yet another example of us being excluded. I'm not part of it through choice (I don't have a problem if you are). I was born intersex and wrongly modified to be a boy when I was born. The rest of me was always a girl. It took me 54 years to finally discover the truth. As far as I know there are no statistics (apart from one in 60 babies are born with an intersex variation) which measure the LBGTQI percentages in the community when, in my opinion it's more relevant than religion if our country is to become more inclusive." - Stephanie

"'If they are to survive, political parties will have to adapt to that changing human landscape.' Political parties are finding themselves on the gradual wane with the growing acceptance of independents - members that truly represent their constituents." - Dave

"Politicians have often thought the general population are not as intelligent as they are and have treated us as such." - Linda

Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.

Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.

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