9. DIANNE YATES (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Defence
What progress has been made on acquiring a new multi-role vessel for the Navy?
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Defence) Link to this
Good progress has been made, with construction being on schedule and within budget. The ship has been launched, with its initial fit-out currently under way at Merwede in the Netherlands. In July it will sail for Melbourne for its final fit-out, and for the addition of military equipment. The Ministry of Defence will accept the ship in December, just 20 months after the first steel was cut.
The multi-role vessel will provide tactical sealift, and patrol and at-sea training, for the navy. It is capable of carrying, for example, 250 troops; around 50 vehicles, including light armoured vehicles and Pinzgauers; four helicopters; and 33 containers. Its landing craft and its helicopters will increase our capacity for disaster relief in the Pacific. It will also work with a range of other departments to protect our borders.
Hon Murray McCully Link to this
Is the Minister aware that the process by which the contract for the multi-role vessel was awarded was a subject of an Ombudsman’s review that made a number of criticisms of the Ministry of Defence, and a number of recommendations; and can he give the House an assurance that all those recommendations have now been implemented?
I can tell the member that the process followed by the ministry was in accordance with the practice guidelines for procurement, which were put out by the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General. The process was properly audited by Audit New Zealand, which did not find fault with it. The Ombudsman came up with the conclusion that because one of the tenders had been inadequately prepared, the ministry should go back to that tenderer. Now, that does produce some difficulties, as the member will be aware, because if the ministry went back to one tenderer and said that the tender had not been adequately prepared, the ministry could be prejudicing the cases of other tenderers. The ministry is currently implementing those aspects of the recommendations, as appropriate, but it is also seeking Crown Law and private legal advice on the issue I have just raised.
Given the National Government’s experience of major instability with the last sealift vessel, the Charles Upham, what confidence does the Minister have that the new ship will not suffer from the same problems?
I am very conscious of the difficulties that were incurred by the Charles Upham—the “”, as the seamen on board used to refer to it. As a result, we have gone about this process in quite a different way from our predecessors. We did rigorous tank-testing last year, which showed that the multi-role vessel fully met its sea-keeping requirements. The testing has shown that the vessel is capable of being fully operational in harsher conditions than weather that keeps the Cook Strait ferries in port. I think that that is a very good result from that testing.
Gerry BrownleeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I did not interrupt the member answering, because you had clearly decided he should answer. But I ask you to look at the Hansard record after this and consider whether that question was in order, and whether the answer was in order. It would be our assertion that, given the discussion earlier today, both question and answer were well out of order, and that Mr Goff had a bit of a free hit, as it were. But if we are to have rigid enforcement of the Standing Orders around questions that are contentious, I think that similar provisions should be applied to the question for which we have just heard an answer.
Very briefly, I say that the thrust of the question asked what confidence I have that the new ship will not endure the same problems that the previous sealift vessel had. That is absolutely within my responsibilities—absolutely appropriate—and the member’s point of order is without foundation.
Madam SPEAKERI am happy to look at the matter for the member, and that was the essence of his point of order. There is a further point of order? It is a different point of order, I hope.
No, that is not the essence of my point of order. It is simply to say that had Mr Goff required the back-bench patsy question to be asked in that way, it would have complied. But he did not, and that really is the issue.