Hawke government axed extra subs

Australia could have ended up with eight Collins submarines but the Hawke Labor government decided that six was enough and more wouldn't be cost-effective.

Cabinet papers for 1990 and 1991, released by the National Archives of Australia, show that two extra boats would have cost an extra $1 billion, which Defence could not afford without increased funding.

In a decision in October 1990, the government decided there was insufficient justification for committing to additional Collins subs any time soon.

The government deferred a final decision "for some years". It never happened.

Had the decision gone the other way, the two extra Collins subs would have made acquisition of their replacements substantially easier, removing some of the pressure for a speedy decision.

When Labor signed the Collins deal in June 1987, the contract contained an option for two additional subs.

That option expired in June 1990 but the contract left open the purchase of extra boats.

The defence minister Robert Ray said buying extra subs could come at the expense of other new equipment, including the new Anzac frigates and upgrading the RAAF's F-111 bombers.

There was insufficient justification for committing to extra subs, he argued.