Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Good government involves using defence procurement strategically for the benefit of the nation and for the development of our advanced manufacturing capacity. Using defence procurement as a strategy to paper over broken election commitments and the destruction of the automotive industry is not good government.

Western Australians were rightly outraged when the PM turned up in Adelaide and said that the new build of frigates and offshore patrol vessels would start in 2018 and that the vast bulk of the work would be done in Adelaide because that is 'where the infrastructure is'. Well, note to PM: the infrastructure for building the offshore patrol vessels in the last 10 years has been in WA. Austal ships has built 14 Armidale class patrol boats. Indeed, WA has the capacity to be a major participant in the frigate rebuild, also slated to go to Adelaide by the PM one day—or to Melbourne when he visited Victoria the next day.

Either the PM is totally ignorant of the shipbuilding capacities we have in WA or he is complacent because he believes his WA ministers are safe. But other seats might not be. WA wants a fair deal. We have world-class shipbuilding and defence engineering companies. As our commodities boom—which has been subsidising this nation—is waning, we need to focus on advanced manufacturing. That is good government.