Under the new deal,the amount of Australian content will be agreed upon for each stage of work to ensure the 60 per cent target can be achieved for the most expensive defence project in the nation’s history.
The Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age revealed on Tuesday the Morrison government was also verging on another critical breakthrough,with the government and Naval Groupclose to agreeing on a plan for the next two-year phase of the project.
After reports Australia was willing to walk away fromthe multibillion-dollar deal,the two developments all but lock in the French company to building 12 new attack submarines to replace the ageing Collins-class fleet.
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The Morrison government had grown increasingly concerned aboutcost blowouts,schedule slippages and commitments to use local contractors and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in recent weeks tasked two senior navy officers to look at alternative options for the submarine fleet,but senior government sources dismissed the likelihood of it walking away from the French build.
A Defence spokeswoman said the commitment made by Naval Group and the French Minister of the Armed Forces,Florence Parly,to spend a minimum of 60 per cent of the contract value in Australia over the life of the program,will be implemented through a formal amendment to the Strategic Partnership Agreement “that maintains the balance between incentives and remedies that apply across the Agreement”.
Naval Group last week submitted its revised plan for the next phase of the program,which was developed in consultation with Defence officials after the government rejected its original offer. The plan still needs to be ticked off by the Morrison government.