Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cowan for his question. I commend him on his ongoing strong representation of the people in the northern suburbs of Perth, and I note that he is a former distinguished member of the Australian Defence Force. The decision to implement a continuous naval ship build will benefit the whole country, because, firstly, it provides certainty for the Australian Navy in terms of meeting its future capability requirements; secondly, it provides growth for Australian industry; and, thirdly, it provides jobs for Australian workers—a trifecta of capability for the Navy, growth for industry and jobs for Australian workers. Hence we are bringing forward a number of projects, including the offshore patrol vessels and the future frigates, and that is good news for Australia.

The competitive evaluation process for the offshore patrol vessels will start in October of this year, and that means opportunities for shipbuilders right across Australia, including in the honourable member's home state of Western Australia. In addition, there are supply chain opportunities for businesses right across this country and, of course, huge opportunities in terms of the sustainment of these vessels once they are produced.

This announcement about the offshore patrol vessels is in addition to the recent $2 billion announcement that Australia will build 21 Pacific patrol boats for our neighbouring Pacific nations, and of course they will be built here in Australia and will be sustained for their lifetime in this country.

So what does that mean? It means more long-term, stable jobs for workers in Australia: more boilermakers, more electricians, more welders, more painters, more people who are involved in every aspect—engineers, et cetera—of building ships in Australia, and that is good not just for Western Australia but also for these industries and workers right around Australia.

It is no wonder that a distinguished, prominent Western Australian, the CEO of Austal shipping, Mr Andrew Bellamy, said that there are great opportunities for Australian shipbuilders, including in Western Australia, the honourable member's home state. When I visited the Henderson shipyards in Western Australia recently, there were two frigates up there on the base being repaired by BAE. HMAS Sirius is currently alongside of Henderson. And, of course, we have two high-speed foreign naval vessels being built as well as two Cape class vessels being built by Austal for Australian border protection.

Western Australia has a significant and impressive shipbuilding industry. These decisions will aid that industry and the industry right throughout Australia has been widely welcomed by everybody except the opposition.

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