Typhoon v SH
JWCook
I think that you have missed much of the point of the problem for the RAAF. The purchase of SH is to fill a capability gap with an aircraft that will fit into the RAAF relatively easily and provide instant and proven capability.
I have a deep knowledge of Typhoon, I am also a big fan - it really is a great airframe and will be an outstanding combat aircraft, but it has some way to go still. In the timeframes that the RAAF need this capability (2010 operational) getting Typhoons is not going to be an option from just a purely manufacturing point of view let alone infra-strusture in Oz etc etc. Rafale is expensive, and I just would not consider it in the same sentence - buying anything off the French can be a minefield (just ask the Oz army about the Tiger programme). Gripen is simply not as good as the other options.
The Aussies are doing the pragmatic and sensible thing - despite your allusions to the Seasprite fiasco, my impression of the Oz procurement system is that they generally get value for money. This buy does smack a little of panic, but what can they do with the F111 becoming so expensive and unserviceable and F35 heading right at a rate of knots.
You could compare this a little to the good old UOR process where the performance/cost/time triangle suddenly becomes much more heavily weighted in the 'time' corner. SH will be available and operational for the RAAF in 2010, the rest won't.