Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

There's up to $62 million in workforce growth and skilling initiatives to enable the delivery of these platforms. It's not just the ships and the infrastructure to build those ships; it's the upskilling of the people. It's making sure we've got the right trades and the right apprentices, and, when it comes to getting young people into the workforce to do all those sorts of jobs, there's no better side of the House to do it than the Liberals and the Nationals. We have a proven track record. The member for Makin talked about the longevity of this government and how many years, over the past quarter of a century, we have been in government. There's a reason for that. It's because the people of Australia know and trust that, when it comes to national security and when it comes to defence investment, we will be the right ones on the treasury bench to deliver, and deliver we are doing.

I note the member's reference to the contract with Naval Group and the AUKUS announcement. I'm not going to enter into a debate about contractual arrangements. They form part of the national security, which is quite rightly kept within the confines of the Prime Minister, defence chiefs and others who decide national security. But, whilst I recognise the talents and skills of those who work in the electorate of Makin—I do—I welcome any opportunity for workers in any electorate of Australia to partake in this process. I know, having gone around as the then Assistant Minister for Defence—and, indeed, as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs—to the various military bases and to where they manufacture armoured personnel carriers and other equipment, that it is a question of not just where the product is completed but all the other manufacturing plants and factories in towns right across the nation. That includes Tasmania—and I acknowledge the service of the member for Braddon, who is no longer in the Chamber. It is the entire country that feeds into the process of getting the right military equipment, and that is what we're doing. When it comes to shipbuilding, 70 defence vessels and 1,700 vehicles are being built in Australia right now.

We're getting on with the job. We're getting the job done. That's because the people trust us when it comes to defence and when it comes to national security. When it comes to shipbuilding, certainly, they know that the Liberals and Nationals will deliver, and they remember that when Labor was last in office there was not a ship built. Labor did not build a single ship. We are getting on with the job. We're fixing up the errors of the past—the Labor past—and we're making sure that, for us, national security comes first.

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