The full findings of a scathing audit into the procurement of a combat vehicle for Australia’s military have been made public despite a contractor’s bid to keep them secret.
A 2018 review by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) of the Department of Defence’s (DoD) $1.3bn contract to buy the Hawkei light military vehicle from Thales was partially redacted following pressure from the contractor.
Thales was awarded a sole-sourced contract by the Turnbull government in 2015 but the ANAO believed the contract had cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the original programme.
Thales was awarded a contract to produce 1,100 locally built Hawkeis – named after former PM Bob Clarke – when the government ditched the US-made Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) alternative.
In documents released following a freedom of information campaign by senator Rex Patrick it became clear certain phrases had been removed from the published report.
Auditor general Grant Hehir’s original report said Hawkei did not appear to represent value for money when compared to the JLTV.
Broadcaster ABC revealed in 2018 that Thales Australia had tried to block the ANAO’s report in the federal court on the grounds it would prejudice the company’s commercial interests.
Redacted parts of the report said: “Publicly available information suggests that the (non-audited) per-unit price difference between the Hawkei and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle exceeds the price difference advised to the government.”
It accused the DoD of failing to adhere to other elements of the government’s rules concerning the benchmarking of prices.
The report said the ANAO had advised the DoD in August 2017 “that the Hawkei did not appear to represent value for money when compared to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle”.
Then attorney-general Christian Porter said he had agreed censor sections of the report on lawful grounds. But Patrick has questioned that decision.
In a letter to Porter he accused him of being “quite wrong to opine that disclosure of the full report would be contrary to public interest”.
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