Nicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to support this motion moved by the member for Fisher, and in doing so I would like to highlight the unprecedented transformation that these defence projects will bring to the South Australian economy.

After the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, during which defence spending was cut to the lowest levels that we'd seen since before World War II and not one Australian built ship was commissioned, the defence industry needed an urgent rethink and a government that was actually serious about our national security and keeping our defence personnel safe. This is what Australians now have with the coalition government. We've taken on board the recommendations put forward in the defence industry white paper and we are implementing the nation's most comprehensive and forward thinking defence industry plan, which will not only keep Australians safe but also resurrect our industries in manufacturing and kickstart innovation across the country.

The coalition has a lot of credibility in this space, and I'd like to mention the extraordinary work of my South Australian colleague Senator David Fawcett, who was integral in developing the case for Australia to have fundamental inputs into defence industry capability. This is the idea that, for the sake of our national security, there are a range of industrial inputs which are important to build and sustain right here in Australia. I'm grateful to Senator Fawcett for introducing me to excellent South Australian based businesses like Saab, SAGE Automation and Cornell Design so I could see firsthand the benefits that defence contracts deliver to private sector companies and also to private sector jobs.

It is not just direct defence work that supports jobs. It's the technology, the learning and the innovation that these companies can then apply to other problems in the private sector and the civilian world that deliver additional value to our economy and jobs as well. To support the defence work beginning in South Australia, we have opened the Centre for Defence Industry Capability and launched the Defence Innovation Hub. These will facilitate close collaboration between the private sector, Defence and AusIndustry to ensure local businesses of all sizes are seizing the opportunities to participate in our record $200 billion investment in defence.

A key part of the strategy is the Naval Shipbuilding Plan, and we have commissioned 54 vessels to be built in Australia over the next decade. We have launched the Naval Shipbuilding College, because we have to provide 5,000 workers by the mid-2020s in naval shipbuilding. We are doing the sustainment here and we are doing the maintenance here, which will create thousands of local jobs. We need to find those skilled people apprenticeships in welding and fitting and turning, because we're building the defence industry in this country like it has never been built before.

The shipbuilding plan will give Australian businesses opportunities to take part in delivering defence contracts and transfer the knowledge, technology and skills they develop into other areas in our economy. This will assist in the expansion of businesses into new markets, allowing them to competitively pursue lucrative export opportunities. Through our initial investment, we will be enabling local businesses to build their industrial capabilities and practices so they can compete globally and build our defence export capacity.

This will be a game changer for South Australia's economy. Between the nine future frigates, the 12 submarines and the offshore patrol vessels, the defence industry is booming in South Australia. In fact, in the last quarter defence spending jumped a massive 23 per cent. In July, construction for the upgrades to infrastructure began at the shipyards at Osborne in Adelaide, signalling the beginning off our bright shipbuilding future. There will be 2,000 jobs created by this project alone. Not long after the frigate build begins, work will start on the 12 submarines. This $50 billion investment in our nation's defence and defence industry will create a total of 2,800 jobs in my home state.

But we must understand that this investment would be at risk if the opposition were to take government. Our achievements in defence capability policy stand in stark contrast to the actions of those opposite when they were last in government. They failed to commission a single naval vessel from an Australian shipyard during their entire time in office, which led to the valley of death. During their time in government, Labor cut $18.8 billion from the Defence budget. They delayed 119 defence capability projects, they reduced 43 projects in scope and they outright cancelled another eight, risking critical security and capability gaps. Their defence spending fell to 1.56 per cent of GDP. Unlike those opposite, we will always stick by our Defence Force personnel and have our national security as our top priority.

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