Fury after Defence picks controversial security firm for $1.2 billion base contract
• The Defence Department has signed a $1.2 billion contract with a security firm accused of suppressing wages and repeated security violations.
• The contract is to manage security at dozens of Defence bases across Australia.
• The Defence Department has asked the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the awarding of a $1.2 billion contract to a French-owned weapons company.
• The contract, which went from an initial costing of $660 million to $1.2 billion and is now projected over $1.3 billion, needs investigating not merely for unethical conduct by Defence.
• The contract has been criticized for its involvement in the Ukraine’s war, with $19.3 billion of US security assistance to Ukraine.
• In 2017, contracts with foreign governments totaled $1.4 billion in sales, a fraction of the $6.3 billion in contracts L-3 had with the Department of Defense.
• The contract has been criticized for its controversial nature and the potential for misuse of military contracts.ontract is part of a strategic partnership to enhance the capabilities of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD).
