The Submarine contract with France, who have a long history of bribing other countries for defence contracts, was always a major scam that blew out from $50 billion to $90 billion in a couple of years with millions flowing into the hands of Liberal Party cronies. France openly had several Liberal Party cronies on their payroll, including Scott Morrison’s close friends David Gazard and Peter Costello, so they thought they owned the Australian government and that is why the French are so mad with Morrison cancelling the deal.
As with most major frauds it is a case of following the money to find the truth. I have been following the money in this matter since 2016 with a number of articles.
Scott Morrison’s announcement of the Claytons deal with the US and UK for nuclear Submarines achieves nothing but to shine a light on the original scam further. As journalist Peter Hartcher from the SMH says below there is no deal with the US and UK. There is only an agreement with the US and UK to possibly come to an agreement in the future which is a joke and not worth the choreographed announcement between Morrison, Joe Biden and Boris Johnson that happened.
I have investigated the Submarine scam since it was first announced in 2016 and written numerous articles on the matter which are well worth reading again so you get the full picture. The titles of the articles by themselves tell a big part of the story. On the 30th of April 2016 I published an article titled “Bribery allegations against Australia’s $50 billion submarine contract winner” which started off:
Australia has just awarded a $50 billion defence project to build Submarines and even before the ink is dry on the contract hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars have landed in the pockets of Liberal Party crony and former staffer Sean Costello. To make matters worse the French company DCNS which has won the $50 billion contract is currently under investigation by a French court for bribing Malaysian officials to win their submarine contract in 2002.
DCNS is alleged to have bribed officials linked to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and the corruption also involves allegations of murder. This is on top of other previous allegations of bribery against DCNS.
Another suspicious element of the Australian tender is that DCNS employed former Liberal staffer Sean Costello as its CEO for the bid. Mr Costello was chief-of-staff for former Defence Minister David Johnston who was sacked from his position in 2014. Click here to read the article)
The video below is Sean Costello on the Lateline show 26/4/16 and raises many questions. (Click here to watch the full story)
On the 4th of May 2016 I published an article titled “Australian Senate corruption inquiry investigating $50 Billion Submarine contract winner” which started off:
The Australian Senate are already investigating corrupt conduct by French arms firm Thales who are the parent company of DCNS which won the $50 billion Submarine contract. They are in effect one company and why the government didn’t address this issue when they announced DCNS as the winner of the Submarine contract is scandalous.
The corrupt conduct by Thales under investigation by the Senate is the rorting and rigging of a $1.5 billion contract with Airservices Australia who are a government body responsible for airspace management in Australia which includes the management of airport control towers etc.
I was tipped off about the Senate enquiry by a regular reader after I published my last article regarding previous bribery allegations against DCNS and Thales and a Liberal Party crony having his nose in the trough of the $50 billion Submarine contract.
The Australian Senate have been investigating financial fraud and corruption at Airservices Australia since 2014 which also involves Thales and its Australian CEO Chris Jenkins. The inquiry has heard evidence of widespread fraud, nepotism and blatant corruption. (Click here to read the article)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and David Gazard
On the 16th of February 2019 I published an article titled “Prime Minister Scott Morrison, his best mate David Gazard and the $50 billion submarine scam” which started off:
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s best mate and closest political advisor, David Gazard, is profiting $millions from the $50 billion submarine contract Australia finalised this week with the French state-owned shipbuilder Naval Group. Naval Group is still under investigation for bribing Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak US$128 million.
What is becoming clear is that the $50 billion submarine contact is a money grab for numerous Liberal Party cronies which is disturbing given Naval Group was previously investigated by the Australian Senate in 2016 for bribery in Australia via one of their subsidiaries.
Firstly, we’ll look at the bribery allegations against Naval group and Naval Group’s former Australian operations CEO Sean Costello who was a former Liberal Party staffer and then David Gazard’s relationship with Prime Minster Scott Morrison and Naval Group.
Later in the article it says:
David Gazard is the man who Scott Morrison went to for advice during the leadership showdown between Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull in September 2015. The SMH reported in 2016 in an article titled “Scott Morrison’s relentless rise to power“:
“On the evening of September 14, 2015 Tony Abbott’s prime ministership was hanging by a thread. Abbott had made Morrison a last-minute offer to join him on a leadership ticket and to take over Joe Hockey’s job as Treasurer. Hunkered down in his Parliament House office over a home-made curry, Morrison gamed his next move with his close friend David Gazard, a former Howard and Costello staffer, while Costello offered advice over the phone.“ (Click here to read more)
That shows that David Gazard is one of Scott Morrison’s closest advisors and friends if not his closest.
The ABC reported (11/2/19):
A long-awaited contract for the $50 billion Future Submarine program will be signed in Canberra today by France and Australia, following months of tough negotiations and the recruitment of a high-powered lobbyist.
The ABC can reveal one of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s key political confidants was recently hired by the French state-owned shipbuilder Naval Group to help improve a rocky relationship with the Defence department, and to secure a crucial Strategic Partnering Agreement (SPA).
“ECG Advisory Solutions“, a lobbying firm founded by former Liberal party candidate David Gazard, has been advising Naval Group since last year on how to handle the difficult SPA negotiations with Australia.
Mr Gazard, who was chief of staff to former New South Wales Liberal leader John Brogden, began his friendship with Mr Morrison when he was the Liberal Party’s State Director for the 2003 election.
In a statement, Naval Group confirmed the arrangement but did not disclose how much Mr Gazard’s company was being paid for its lobbying services.
Mr Morrison discussed progress on the SPA with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20 summit in late November, and told reporters they had agreed to elevate it “back up to leader-level to ensure it’s finalised in the near term”. (Click here to read more)
In December 2018 the Financial Review reported:
The other significant “mate of Morrison” who straddles the business and political worlds is David Gazard, a former staffer to Howard and Peter Costello turned lobbyist.
One Liberal source says Gazard is “number one” in terms of who Morrison talks to first but Gazard, who calls the PM one of his best friends, maintains he is way down the pecking order. (Click here to read more)
The $50 billion contract, and the direct involvement of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his mate David Gazard, has got the smell of the Malaysian bribery scandal all over it. Naval Group were having trouble finalising the details of the $50 billion deal with Australia so they hired Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s best mate as a “consultant” and payed him $millions to get the deal finalised.
How do I know David Gazard is getting paid $millions? I don’t. But former federal MP and trade minister Andrew Robb is being paid $880,000 a year, even if he does nothing, for a consulting deal with a company closely linked to the Chinese government. (Click here to read more) So it would be a fair guess that David Gazard is being paid $million if not more for “consulting” on the $50 billion submarine deal. The exact deal and how much David Gazard is being paid is something that Prime Minister Scott Morrison has an obligation make public. For Scott Morrison to say it has nothing to do with him is not believable. The French didn’t employ Morrison’s mate for nothing. (Click here to read the article)
Peter Costello, David Gazard and Jonathan Epstein launch their firm ECG in 2011.
On the 24th of February 2019 I published an article titled “Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his puppet master Peter Costello” which started off:
Former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has his fingerprints all over Prime Minister Scott Morrison as his puppet master, the $50 billion submarine contract scam and the federal government via his chairmanships of ECG Financial Pty Ltd, Nine and the $150 billion Future Fund. There is also documented evidence that Peter Costello has been deliberately hiding his lobbying activity from state and federal governments.
My investigation and ASIC company searches show that Peter Costello is a current financial owner of ECG Financial Pty Ltd and was previously a financial owner of the sister company ECG Advisory Solutions which I reported last week has made $millions from a dodgy deal to give advice in the $50 billion submarine contract. There’s also a prima facie case that Prime Minister Scott Morrison helped orchestrate the deal for ECG and his mates Costello and David Gazard who is a director and 50% shareholder of ECG Advisory via his company GPJT Pty Ltd.
There are clearly musical chairs being played by Peter Costello and others to hide the truth and the fraud and thefts. Specifically, what is being hidden is that Peter Costello makes a lot of money lobbying the government for large companies. (Click here to read the article)
On the 9th of May 2020 I published an article titled “Has Scott Morrison’s best mates David Gazard and Peter Costello again fraudulently profited from Australia’s $90 billion Liberal Party / submarine slush fund?” which started off:
Australia’s $90 billion submarine contract was only finalised in 2019 after Scott Morrison’s best mates David Gazard and Peter Costello were cut into the action by Morrison. That alone says there needs to be an open and public inquiry into the contract.
On Wednesday (6/5/20) further details were reported about suspect financial decisions regarding the deal.
The Australian defence force approved Australian taxpayer-funded pay rises and bonuses for the staff at the French-owned Naval Group Australia even though “the project is already billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule”.
Defence has refused to reveal who in the department approved the remuneration changes and referred all questions on Naval Group’s employment conditions and pay to the company. (Click here to read the article)
What Morrison is up to who knows but cash for his mates have always been part of the mix at least since he has been Prime Minister and he has stung the French by using them to in effect launder $millions stolen from the Australian public, for an overpriced Submarine contract, for his mates such as David Gazard and Peter Costello. Pulling the pin on the Submarine deal with the French looks like an attempt by Scott Morrison to cover the scam up in case the Liberals lose the next federal election.
The French submarines deal is the first issue that needs investigating when a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is eventually established and maybe that is what worried Morrison because he would have to know he is a good chance of losing the next election and a federal ICAC won’t be far away. And as I wrote above it is France’s courts that investigated the French bribing the Malaysian Prime Minister so the French courts could also investigate any bribery of Australian politicians or their mates which would also have to worry Morrison and his mates.
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Categories: Prime Minister Scott Morrison
How much dirty money is enough? It’s never enough. The money is simply the by product of a great game being played out. Rather than use their intelligence to the benefit of the population and gain great social repute they are using it to get away with heinous crimes to demonstrate that they are masters of deception. That’s what it is really about. Ego! Then they have to hide their ill gotten gains. That’s another game in itself. I say let them have their stolen money for in the very near future that money will be worth no more than a box of toilet rolls. Then what? Remember when Saddam Hussein was caught in an alleged hole in the ground stuffed with USD$, that will be their outcome too, and they hung him before he could testify, before he could name names. That’s how they’ll end up too, in the end. What is money any way? To buy stuff that looses value rapidly as soon as it is spent; idiots who likely were raised as children by idiots.
Agreed! Though you can buy people with money to do evil things. So you can get outcomes to an Agenda, that’s what worries me the most. People sell out and sell their souls for this shit!
In reply to Kaiwanshou, the amount of underhanded sly-belly undertakings by this L/NP party government since their latest shock win reelection in 2019, seem set to continue as was accordingly delivered by Australia’s Electoral Commission.
This is one of the only Federally funded departments that has not suffered any budget cuts nor has been subjected to any external audit.
The Federal Liberal National coalition party government have installed one of their cronies as the head of each Federal government agency and department, so why not Australia’s Electoral Commission?
Naturally this requires one to look from outside the Square at all within the Square, which in itself is not an impossible undertaking.
For example, the integrity of Australia’s Highest Court is responsible for judgment on the carriage of each anti-the government petition, Inevitably their judgment rules in the negative.
Notwithstanding, this current L/NP government have abandoned a number of the principles held in Australia’s Commonwealth Constitution, are these abandonments not an act of treachery?
One can never say ‘no’ that’s impossible, however, the rule of numbers says otherwise, neither premise can be summarily rejected.
One must reflect back to the era of Prime Minister John Howard, a despicable treacherous self-serving individual. (Confirmed by my deep research into that individual, always toadying up to the desires of the US of A.)
The prize up for grabs is the control of Australia’s national revenues and their secretive selective expenditures.
One must look about to understand the perilous dangers of a Prime Minister’s so doing?
William, in view of the Liam Magill case, Susan Crennan and Dyson Heyden, I don`t think High Court and integrity belong in the same sentence.
The Coalition are traitors
No wonder Nine Entertainment newspapers sing the Liberal Party song! I wonder who is chairman?
This is pretty serious stuff.
I hope more comes out very soon, I would much prefer Morrison gets sacked (as he has been twice before) instead of losing an election and the pack of cards house crashes down so everyone can see the cards used in the game. There is surely something behind that permanent smirk and there is something very rotten in the state of Australia.
I totally agree! Morrison’s absolute duplicity needs to be shown to all as a result of his vanity and hubris…oh, and btw, his stupidity and ignorance 😒
Is it true that the for the first submarines order the French had to alter them from Nuclear to Diesel powered as an condition of sale? This became an added cost, cheers F
Yes, the French Barracuda subs are already nuclear powered and have to be refuelled every 7-8 years since the uranium is not highly enriched like with the US/UK versions. In the case of an accident I think that would make the US/UK versions more toxic for the environment.
Australia under Turnbull and Morrison (his treasurer) specifically asked for modified diesel powered versions which caused many problems requiring much need for re-design.
The reason given was that if they ordered the nuclear version there would be too many issues that Australians would react to given there has not been any discussion on Australia entering into a new phase of nuclear powered military equipment. Morrison has just waltzed over this as if Australians long standing anti-nuclear views don’t matter.
The other reason they chose diesel sub motors is that they in turn charge batteries and can be switched off with the sub running on electricity. So it makes a much quieter model in order to avoid detection.
Morrison has form for scams and fraud,,, so nothing is new there at all,,, a leopard doesn’t change it’s spots,,, Morrison will do a fade away and leave the whole mess for someone else to clean up,,,as he goes with his millions
Every PM since Bob Menzies has left office a wealthy man. Ironically none has left Australians any worthwhile achievements to justify their under table earnings. Quite a few Ministers fit the same mould.
Wrong. Upon retirement Menzies was given a Malvern mansion by anonymous donors..Not a poor man.
Menzies was given the house BECAUSE he had not feathered his nest whi;e in office. He did not own a residence of his own.
With due respect Whyn, if you were diligent in researching your subject you would not have overlooked Gough Whitlam. The tributes at his State Funeral in 2014 said it all.
The ICC awaits
Lobbyists the perfect means in which to funnel bribes through to the end user. Lobbyists are a scourge on Govt decision making as it all depends on whoever has the biggest cheque book. If one reads between the lines the implication of setting up ECG was purely to ensure that DCNS was to be awarded the contract. Having any former minister or party apparatchik associated with a lobby group is ripe for exploitation. Aside from having a Federal ICAC to review such decisions there should be a cooling off period from when a Minister leaves Govt or a party member to join a consulting / lobby group of say 3 years. They need to be out of the decision making loop for as shown here with the subs it just becomes a sham
show me any person in politics that is clean!! They all learn how to scrape off the top the middle and bottom, we are the bottom, so we are easily fooled. because we have no rights to ask questions we can not look into anything, and if you get to close to the truth they make sure you look an idiot. The legal system is in on the scams, the whole of Australia needs to out all the political systems, the courts in fact get rid of everything and start again. with half the system we have now, every year we seem to have more politicians than we need. There really has to be a better system than what is in place now. There are allot of good people in Australia, but not what we have running our country. Many thanks KCA for your in site as to what is happening.
Until a Federal ICAC is established, these crooks & the “deals” in which they are involved will. never be questioned, as no pollies of either persuasion will agree to a Federal ICAC.
Similar to what’s happening in South Australia at the moment, both parties have unanimously agreed to reduce the powers of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) thereby nullifying the reach of our state ICAC to investigate MPs. What hope has the voting public got !
This LNP house of cards is destined to collapse. A house of cards that has created great mistrust and moral instability in Australia. We can only hope that there will be a huge reality check soon, one that will expose the perpetrators, whoever they might be.
We were promised a federal ICAC >1000 days ago. The Libs’ broken promise is proof that they don’t give a shit about democracy.
I think Albanese said that if Labor gets elected next year, then a proper ICAC with teeth would be established.
Woopeee Australia buys nuke subs from the USA,,, to be delivered in 20 years,,, how stupid is that thought from the idiots in charge,,,and how many brown paper bags did a few get from that scam deal,,, by the time we get them they’ll be obsolete,,, and detection will be so far advanced they’ll be next to useless,,, fast patrol missile armed patrol boats stationed in all major ports,,, sorry we all know the pollies will disappear with whatever remains in the treasury and go somewhere safe,,, and as always stuff the people,,,
This is an important article from KCA who has followed the DCNS-Thales kickback trail. The murder was that of interpreter Altantuya Shaaribuu by two officers of the Malaysian Special Branch.
We really don’t know exactly why Morrison had to dump the French contract. Were they going clean on kickbacks to the Liberal mates or were they threatening to go public? Maybe atmospheric carbon and the EU is in the mix but Boris is a climate believer so who knows?
“you can buy a judge”
Big fish in small ponds are always the hungriest and greediest.
Abbott did a deal over the Japanese subs that crashed and burned
Morrison did a deal over the French subs that crashed and burned
Then they signed up to a deal that had no details at all, just a thought bubble, and locked Australia into both a financial and military disaster.
It’s not just the money
It’s the security of Australia