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

My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. Will the minister update the House on the government's national defence industry project that guarantees the future security of the nation and supports our economic prosperity through the creation of thousands of jobs? How does this compare with other approaches?

Dr Mike Kelly interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Eden-Monaro is warned.

Mr Robert interjecting—

The member for Fadden is warned as well.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. Last Monday I had the great pleasure of going to Osborne with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence, Marise Payne, to launch the national shipbuilding plan. On this side of the House we are responsible for the largest build-up of our naval capability in peacetime—$90 billion of taxpayers' investment in the largest build-up of our naval capability in peacetime. It is laid out in the Naval Shipbuilding Plan that the Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence and I released last Monday—where we are going to find the skills and the workforce, what is required in terms of infrastructure, the build-up of our industrial capability—because we want as much of that spending as possible to happen here in Australia, creating jobs and investment. On the other side of the House—

Dr Mike Kelly interjecting—

By contrast, we are making up for the decisions that they did not make. And it has been very well received. The Naval Shipbuilding Plan—

Dr Mike Kelly interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Defence Industry will resume his seat. I warned the member for Eden-Monaro at the beginning of the minister's answer, when the chamber was at its quietest. He has continued to interject. He will leave under 94(a).

The member for Eden-Monaro then left the chamber.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Naval Shipbuilding Plan has been very well received, particularly by industry, by the defence forces, by all of those in Australia who want advanced manufacturing, highly technical, highly valuable jobs. Even the Leader of the Opposition was on 5AA with Leon Byner the day after the release of the Naval Shipbuilding Plan. Leon Byner said, 'Wouldn't you say that that's a good initiative?' The Leader of the Opposition said, 'Of course we would—it's our initiative.'

I almost blew a gasket laughing as I was listening to the radio. Apparently the Naval Shipbuilding Plan, the national project to build 54 vessels, was all Bill's idea. It was all the Labor Party's idea. This man does stand-up comedy better than Pete Helliar on The Project. He is like Rapunzel at the top of his tower, completely disconnected from reality, cut off from the world.

We have 54 vessels that we have commissioned in four years of this government. How many were there under the Labor Party? Not one—zero, absolutely nothing in six years. Labor had a naval shipbuilding plan—it was called the valley of death. It was like a B-grade movie title. What they left in naval shipbuilding was a desert—absolutely no commitments to one ship to be built in this country in six years. We have 54 vessels driving 5,000 jobs in naval shipbuilding alone. That is $90 billion in naval shipbuilding, $200 billion across the build-up of our military capability. This is a government that takes defence and defence industries seriously— (Time expired)