Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak today as a representative of a community still reeling from the loss of 2,500 manufacturing jobs at the Toyota Altona plant. With the loss of these jobs and the flow-on effects to the thousand more manufacturers of component parts that supply the Altona plant, manufacturing in my electorate is under enormous pressure. In this context, it is even more important than ever before that the federal government does everything possible to support jobs in other industries which are currently under threat in Melbourne's west. I speak here of the BAE shipyards, which are an iconic part of the identity of Williamstown and Melbourne's west. They represent a shipbuilding legacy that stretches back over 150 years and is woven into our nation's history. There are dry docks at the Williamstown shipyards that were built with convict labour and are now protected by the National Trust as a significant part of Australia's national heritage.

For 150 years the shipyards have been at the cutting edge of the maritime industry, constantly advancing the craft of shipbuilding through the innovation of the Williamstown workers. Today that translates into some of the most advanced manufacturing work in Australia combining high-tech equipment with scientific expertise to build air warfare destroyers and landing and helicopter docks that play a key strategic role in Australia's Defence Forces.

I have visited the BAE shipyards in Williamstown many times and I see the pride that these workers take in playing a key part in one of Australia's most important strategic industries. I know, most importantly, that BAE is a business that has been investing in the future of Melbourne's west. BAE is a business that thinks long-term and in recent years has trained over 30 new apprentices. In recent months they have finalised an in-house apprenticeship program directly targeted at the future shipbuilding workers of Melbourne's west. In the long term, the future of our maritime industry should be rosy.

In 2013, the then Labor government released the Future Submarine Industry Skills Plan, which articulated the government's commitment to enhancing and maintaining the necessary skills, expertise and capacity in Australia's naval shipbuilding industry, to ensure successful delivery and sustainment of Australia's future naval capabilities, particularly the future submarine. The Future Submarine Industry Skills Plan set out a long-term approach to maintaining naval shipbuilding capability and used future naval shipbuilding projects as a way to improve skills and productivity in the shipbuilding industry.

In future years the Australian Navy has requirements for the replacement of Australia's Armidale-class patrol boats, submarines and the replacement of the current Anzac-class frigates with the new Future frigates. There are decades of shipbuilding work required for Australia's future and where better to build these warships than in the high-tech shipyards of Williamstown. However, despite this potentially rosy future, the survival of the Williamstown shipyards in the short term currently hangs in the balance. The shipyards current construction contracts are nearing completion and without further contracts there will be no work to replace them. The now infamous 'valley of death' is upon the Williamstown shipyards, where a gap in Defence contracts will be unsustainable for BAE and they will be forced to cease operations. This will lead to a loss of over 1,000 jobs on top of the 2,500 jobs lost at Toyota. We have already seen the early effects of this 'valley of death' with the lay-off of 30 welders by BAE in December last year due to a lack of work. This issue needs to be resolved in weeks not months. To save the shipyards the government must act now. This is an issue with a straightforward solution.

Labor saw the 'valley of death' and vowed to act. In August 2013, I visited this shipyards with then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He announced that after the election we would fast track Defence contracts to replace Australia's supply ships HMAS Success and HMAS Sirius and secure the futures of over 1,000 workers at the Williamstown shipyards. The response to this from the then shadow defence minister David Johnston in the other place was to mouth platitudes about building another aircraft or destroyer. After the election I wrote to Senator Johnston asking for details of this commitment. The response I received gave no guarantees to the workers of Williamstown that they would be supported by the coalition government.

The Prime Minister claims that we need jobs in growing industries. The Prime Minister claims that defence spending will grow to two per cent of GDP under his government in the next 10 years. If the Prime Minister is to be believed the defence sector will be a growing industry capable of supporting a vastly expanded naval shipbuilding industry, so why will the Prime Minister not pick up his pen and sign the Defence contracts that will secure the jobs of Williamstown workers? Even Liberal Premier Denis Napthine has realised that something must be done and is pleading with the Prime Minister to act, but the coalition government is not listening. When the Liberal Premier came to Canberra cap in hand in the wake of the thousands of job losses at Toyota, the defence minister was not even in the room to hear his appeals.

I do not want to see a Williamstown where abandoned shipyards are filled with high-rise apartments rather than jobs for Australian workers. The Prime Minister needs to listen to the advice of his state counterpart and ensure that there is adequate work to enable the Williamstown shipyards to cross the 'valley of death' and to thrive in a growing industry of the future. (Time expired)