Ministers Overruled Defence Advice Not to Publicise Patrol Boat Problems

The 15th Guardian-class Patrol Boat manufactured by shipbuilder Austal and delivered to the Australian Department of Defence, which was then gifted to the Cook Islands government and named the "Te Kukupa II." Courtesy of Austal Australia

The Labor government decided to publicly criticise problems with Australian-made patrol boats dispatched to the Pacific despite warnings from officials not to.

The Department of Defence cautioned the deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, not to disclose the issue, according to documents obtained by The Guardian newspaper.