Coalition suppressed auditor's finding that $1.3bn Thales arms deal could have cost half with US

French group asked attorney general to use extraordinary powers to black out sections of report that criticised the deal

The Coalition suppressed the auditor general’s finding that Australia could have paid half the amount for its new $1.3bn combat vehicle fleet after pressure from a multinational arms manufacturer, documents reveal.

Documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal that Thales, a French multinational arms company, was “aggrieved” at auditor general Grant Hehir’s finding that Australia could have saved hundreds of millions of dollars had it gone to the United States to buy its new fleet of light protected army vehicles, instead of buying 1,100 of Thales’s locally built Hawkeis.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2R7TbLT
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