Fury over Australia's $9m military contract to China

Unpublished
Canberra - The Australian Department of Defence has sparked fury by awarding a $9million contract to a firm who will make military uniforms in China. Crossbench senator Nick Xenophon branded the decision to allow Australian Defence Apparel to make the dress uniforms overseas a 'disgrace'. Defence officials claimed the multi-million dollar deal on non-combat clothing represented 'best value for money', but Xenophon said they had missed an opportunity to create jobs for Australians. 'What's really on parade here is a failure to support Australian jobs by people that seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing,' the South Australian senator said. Xenophon warned that the new contract, which was signed in April and will last for two years, 'fails the pub test'.  'If something is a little more expensive on the surface here in Australia but it means we're going to get all sorts of flow on benefits in terms of jobs, in terms of economic activity and tax and other benefits then it's a no-brainer,' he told ABC. 'Surely something as iconic as the uniforms our serving men and women of the Defence Force wear ought to be made in Australia. The fact that it's not is nothing short of a disgrace,' he added. The Department of Defence said Australian Defence Apparel was chosen 'as the preferred tenderer, following an open competitive process'. Xenophon said he would seek further explanation from Defence Minister Marise Payne. The outrage over the new deal comes just days after Labor senator Sam Dastyari was forced to resign from the shadow frontbench after having a $40,000 legal fee paid for by a business linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Yuhu Group, which has offices in Australia and Shenzhen in China, paid the bill for Dastyari. The company's billionaire chairman, Huang Xiangmo, is behind several pro-Beijing organisation's in Australia and the group donated $435,000 to the Liberal Party and $100,000 to federal Labor between 2013 to 2015. 'I freely admitted that I made a mistake ... I’m here to make it clear I accept the consequences,' Dastyari, 33, said as he quit as manager of opposition business in the Senate and spokesman for consumer affairs. 'It's clear to me now that this has become a distraction,' he said on Wednesday. 'The last thing a Government as bad and divided as this one deserves is a free pass. I refuse to be the reason they escape proper scrutiny.'(FA)

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