Collins sham points to enemy within

More of the usual. This article notes that there is little justification to believe what Defence and politicians say when they want to build 12 home-grown boondoggles with no credible skills to back up the effort.

ON August 28, 1993, Paul Keating launched the first Collins-class submarine. The fanfare was impressive. Led by the ABC, the media hailed the event as a triumph. But it was a hoax.

Steel plates were timber painted black. The engine had never been tested in salt water. The pipe fabrication was not finished. Nor was the design of the vessel itself. And the combat system didn't work. As the champagne bottle cracked, the gleaming submarine posed a greater threat to Australia's taxpayers than to its enemies.

Had Keating been the director of a listed company, the stunt would have landed him in hot water. Instead, the experience left a legacy of distrust about defence programs. Now a series of reports, all issued late last year, suggest that distrust is still merited.