It's hard to know if she actually had a coherent point to make here--it sure didn't look like it. At the least, she was poorly served by her staff, which didn't educate her, didn't program her questions, and didn't stop her from looking the fool.
Now, very oddly, four years later, the contract for the submarines has run into cost overruns--and--as a class of Air-Independent subs using pump jets, the French "Attack" class subs may be cut down, canceled, or replaced. But, her questions were--the best example of NOT getting to core issues I've seen recently.
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A rear admiral appeared to become frustrated when he was asked whether submarines commissioned by the Australian government could last more than 20 minutes under water by One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson.
“Is it true that pump-jet submarines can only stay underwater for 20 minutes?” Hanson asked.
“I assure you they can last for longer than 20 minutes,” Rear Admiral Greg Sammut said. “A pump jet is a form of propeller, it has no bearing on how deep a submarine can go, how long it can stay under water.”
The senator was inquiring about plans for 12 new vessels, which will be built by French shipbuilder Naval Group, SBS reported.
Courtesy: Parliament of Australia
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Update
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38790/australia-reportedly-looking-at-an-alternative-to-its-costly-new-french-designed-submarines
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