The Labor government decided to publicly criticise problems with Australian-made patrol boats dispatched to the Pacific despite warnings from officials not to. The Department of Defence cautioned the deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, not to disclose the issue, according to documents obtained by The Guardian newspaper. “Proactive media on the current Guardian-class…

A hiccup has emerged in Australia’s relationship-building efforts in the Pacific after technical defects were discovered in a fleet of Guardian-class patrol boats delivered to island nations under the Pacific Maritime Security Program. The $2.1 billion Program (US$1.45 billion), part of the wider Pacific Step-up initiative, promised the delivery of 22 patrol vessels to Pacific…

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has headed west in the second week of election campaigning with a sweetener for the defence industry. Morrison announced an AU$124 million package for two extra navy patrol boats to be constructed at the Henderson shipyards in Perth, Western Australia, by local defence contractor Austal. The two new Evolved Cape…