OZschwitz: Dishonest defence officials kept faults from minister: audit

DEFENCE planners wasted at least $1.4 billion on a failed contract to buy 11 Seasprite helicopters for the navy and failed to properly inform their minister about concerns the project should be scrapped, an audit has found.

A report tabled yesterday by the Australian National Audit Office notes that, despite safety concerns, an open day was held at Nowra on December 2, 2005, at which 55 family members of the navy's 805 Squadron were allowed to participate in joyflights.

It says the project - which was approved in 1996 and axed by the Rudd Government last year - suffered from a string of poor management decisions, including apparent obfuscation by Department of Defence officials.

Nine helicopters were delivered to the navy between 2003 and 2005. But they were affected by "significant limitations" and safety concerns, and were banned from ships from late 2004, the report says. By 2006 the aircraft were grounded amid a range of doubts about their airworthiness, including problems with the automatic flight control system and concerns that the cockpit was too small, that the helicopters could not fly in bad weather, that they were too heavy and that their crash worthiness was sub-standard.

LNK

OZschwitz: Dishonest defence officials kept faults from minister: audit

OZschwitz: Dishonest defence officials kept faults from minister: audit

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