Defence Minister David Johnston has expressed "regret" over his extraordinary remark that he would not trust the government's shipbuilder ASC to "build a canoe".
Despite backing away from the remark, Senator Johnston defended it, however, as "a rhetorical flourish".
His expression of regret – which stopped short of an apology – came after Prime Minister Tony Abbott distanced himself from Senator Johnston's original remark on Tuesday afternoon and the Minister's South Australian colleagues erupted in fury.
"Regrettably, in rhetorical flourish, I did express my frustrations in the past performance of ASC. In these comments I never intended to cause offence and I regret that offence may have been taken," Senator Johnston told the Parliament on Wednesday morning.
"And I of course was directing my remarks at a legacy of issues and not the workers in ASC, whom I consider to be world class."
The ASC is centrally involved in the $8 billion project to build three Air Warfare Destroyers, which will be the Royal Australian Navy's most powerful ever warships. It is also responsible for the Collins Class submarine.
But the destroyer project is running over time and over budget by at least $350 million and likely more than $600 million.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten moved a motion in the lower house on Wednesday morning for Mr Abbott to sack Senator Johnston, who has for some time been under pressure to keep his portfolio.
He said the minister had trashed the reputation of local submarine makers.
"[It's] a shocking insult to thousands of Australian men and women working at the Australian submarine corporation," Mr Shorten told Parliament.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Shorten said if Senator Johnston harboured such serious concerns about ASC's ability, he should recall the Collins class submarines built by the company.
"If he thinks these are nothing better than canoes ... if he has any conviction of anything he said, they should recall these submarines right now. They should not put submariners in harm's way if they think that the ASC has built bad submarines," Mr Shorten said.
The minister had in his original remarks lambasted the Adelaide-based ASC's performance over the destroyer project.
"You wonder why I'm worried about ASC and wonder what they're delivering to the Australian taxpayer? You wonder why I wouldn't trust them to build a canoe?" he said on Tuesday afternoon.
This appeared to dash hopes that Australia's new fleet of submarines to replace the Collins Class will be built in Australia.
Mr Abbott quickly distanced himself from that remark, saying the ASC "plays a vital role supporting the Royal Australian Navy and our key naval capabilities".
He said the firm, which includes former Coalition MP and industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella as a board member, had "transformed its submarine maintenance program" and "improved the availability of our Collins Class fleet to defend our national interests".
And the Prime Minister said the government was confident the ASC and its partners would "successfully turn the corner on this important build".
'No excuse to be disparaging'
Defending himself on Wednesday morning, Senator Johnston said frustration over the ASC's performance on the destroyer program were well known and "cannot be denied".
He said he was committed to fixing the problems with ASC. And the government had made no decision on the next fleet of submarines.
South Australian Liberal senator Simon Birmingham said he had spoken to Mr Johnston.
"We need to be honest about the challenges the industry, the ASC and partners have had in cost effectively building ships and submarines in Australia," Senator Birmingham said.
"But that's no excuse to be disparaging about the workforce or the extensive capabilities that exist in South Australia."
Senator Birmingham said Mr Abbott had "given very clear assurances throughout that the course of this year that there will be more jobs in South Australia in shipbuilding as a result of the increase in spending on defence that the Abbott government is making".
"I take that to be a vote of confidence in our capacity to address the problems of the past and to ensure there is a viable industry there in the future," Senator Birmingham said.
Another Liberal senator from South Australia, Sean Edwards, told Fairfax Media he supports the supports the subs being built locally and said he would have "preferred the minister didn't use those words".
"They were expressed out of frustration rather than reflection of the truth," he said on Wednesday.
But he said the minister's comments and the subsequent backlash should serve as a reminder to the federal cabinet how important the issue is to South Australians.
And he said they backed his prior call for an open tender to be held, instead of the government making the decision in secret.
"I believe it's always been vital but this helps my argument, I reaffirm my support of South Australian shipbuilders and simply ask that they be included in the tender program," he said.
But he defended the minister against Labor's call for his sacking, saying David Johnston "is doing a good job of turning around the ASC, a job that Labor failed to achieve in six years".
with AAP
