Stop the Boats' Rental

Why on earth are we leasing Navy patrol boats from the National Australia Bank? It’s a strange arrangement - handing over $63 million to one of the "Big Four" to rent vessels like the Cape Inscription. When I asked for the logic behind this, or even the basic cost of the lease extensions, the answers were frustratingly thin. No one in the room could tell me what it would cost to buy these ships back, or even how much total taxpayer money has been paid to the NAB so far. This feels like a stopgap measure that has turned into a more permanent, expensive one, and I intend to find out exactly who is profiting from it. — Senate Estimates | October 2025 Transcript: https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/stop-the-boats-rental/