Labor retains Coalition-appointed shipbuilding adviser on $9,000 for each day worked

Despite a budget edict to reduce reliance on external consultants, a letter obtained by Guardian Australia shows the new government has decided to keep paying former US navy secretary Donald Winter for advice.

Guardian Australia has learned that Winter has so far worked about a third of the 150 days specified in his three-year contract, which adds up to about $450,000 at current exchange rates.

Winter was appointed by the George W Bush administration to be US navy secretary from 2006 and he left that role in 2009, two months into the Barack Obama administration.

Winter has previously disclosed in filings to the US Department of Justice that he is paid daily compensation of US$6,000 (A$9,060 at current exchange rates), plus expenses.

The contract did not appear to prevent early scrapping of the arrangement if the government wished.

The latest round of Senate estimates hearings examined the role of former US navy leaders in advising the government, after the Washington Post published an investigative report in October.

In addition to Hilarides, the other members of the naval shipbuilding expert advisory panel include retired US navy R Adm Thomas Eccles and fellow Americans Howard Fireman and Gloria Valdez.

Murray Easton from the UK is a member while the deputy chair is Australian Ronald Finlay.

A defence spokesperson confirmed that there had been no change to the membership or terms of reference of this panel since the May election.

A retired US navy admiral, Kirkland Donald, resigned from the submarine advisory committee in April 2022, seven months after the Aukus partnership with the US and the UK was announced.

The Washington Post reported that Donald had also served, since 2020, as chairman of the board of Huntington Ingalls Industries, which makes the Virginia-class submarines that the Australian government is now considering as one of the options under Aukus.