Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney says, ‘What’s in the folder?’ Let me just mention a couple of things that have been well and truly covered in the press that I can talk about briefly. What about the Adelaide class FFG upgrade? What about the $3.5 billion Wedgetail project? What about the lightweight torpedo project? The Leader of the Opposition is familiar with all these projects. Prior to the election, we made a promise that, if we were elected, we would review these projects as a matter of priority—and we are carefully, thoroughly and as quickly as we can working our way through each of these projects.

In the case of Seasprite, we have shown a willingness to make the tough decisions when it is necessary, something the former government was not prepared to do. We will do so especially when the security of the nation and the safety and capability of the Australian Defence Force are at stake. The consequences of the decision not to proceed with the project are very complex, and discussions with the project contractor regarding the legal and financial arrangements have commenced. Indeed, a negotiating team from the DMO went to the United States just last weekend. I will provide further details about the arrangements once those negotiations are complete.

Of course, the Navy will still need the capability that the Seasprite helicopter would have provided. These matters will be more fully investigated as part of the government’s new defence white paper process, something the former government should have done some time ago. In the meantime, Defence will look at how best we can provide that additional capability using our existing fleet of Seahawk helicopters. The government is determined to ensure that the capability gap created by the former government’s incompetence is filled as quickly as is possible.

I acknowledge that the cancellation of this contract may affect up to 55 industry employees in the Nowra region. The opposition might want to listen to this point, Mr Speaker. Thankfully, the skills those employees hold are heavily in demand in the Australian economy. In addition, the government is committed to ensuring that the investment we have made in their skills will not be wasted, and we have engaged a local human resources company to assist those employees in being re-placed. Of course, effective Defence Force personnel will be repositioned or redeployed into other helicopter activities.

Defence helicopter activities across the Nowra region are set to expand, and the government remains committed to the expansion of those projects.

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