Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For the first time in Australia's history, the government will deliver a continuous naval shipbuilding plan that will give industry and employees security for years to come. Not only does this mean more jobs for Australians and job security for employees at shipyards around Australia, but it will also allow industry to invest and will allow supply chains in the defence industry. It will allow professional services that work for the defence industry to continue.

Following numerous meetings I have had with defence businesses and industry leaders, I know that we can get the productivity up to world-class levels at Australian shipyards. Despite the challenges we have had with the Collins class submarine and air warfare destroyer, I have every confidence in our workforce in Australia. Significant economic growth will be generated from a sustainable shipbuilding industry that will sustain about 2,500 long-term shipbuilding jobs that would otherwise have been lost. Yes, in the short term there might be some decline in the shipbuilding industry, but we know that this is because of the failure of the previous Labor government to invest.

The Future Frigates are a major part of the coalition government's plan to deliver a long-term, sustainable Australian naval shipbuilding industry. I have been fighting for more jobs in the defence sector for a couple of years, having regular meetings with government ministers. This latest announcement is great news for our defence industry. I am thrilled at the jobs created and will continue to fight to maximise Australian involvement in the Future Submarine Project. As Premier Weatherill said, 'This is a big win for South Australia.' The Adelaide shipyards and workforce are strategic national assets. I am informed by leading defence companies that the facilities at Osborne are the best in Australia.

The $39 billion that will be invested in ships for the Navy over the next 20 years which will end the boom-and-bust cycle which has impacted on defence companies' abilities to continue to maintain employment. Unfortunately, the previous government failed to initiate one shipbuilding project during their term in government. There was a lot of noise from the other side about defence shipbuilding, but their record is poor. Like the surpluses the member for Lilley promised at the dispatch box, the boats that were promised were never built. The former government ignored Defence advice, leaving a future capability gap, and, furthermore, took billions of dollars from the Defence budget.

As published in The Australian on 28 June this year, Defence department secretary, Dennis Richardson, and Air Chief Marshal, Mark Binskin, told The Australian it was too late to bridge the 'valley of death' shipbuilders faced when current projects run out. They said that, to avoid job losses, the previous government would have had to have placed orders for ships at least three years ago and probably much earlier. A sustainable shipbuilding industry is part of the federal government's commitment to defence. As the acting chief executive of BAE Systems said:

We know from our experience ... that when a continuous build program is in place, we can achieve and sustain productivity improvements that result in a globally competitive performance.

That is what we all want from our defence industry: globally competitive performance, security and investment.