Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When it comes to the construction and development of Western Australia's naval defence capacity, the Liberal Party would have you believe that they are doing a fantastic job at delivering thousands and thousands of jobs for the Western Australian shipbuilding industry, focused on the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson in the electorate of Fremantle.

Senator Cormann and the member for Curtin would have us believe from their full-page ads spreads in The West Australian, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, that WA is 50 per cent of our nation's new shipbuilding program. They could not be further from the truth. Once again, the Turnbull Liberal government is failing WA. Despite having the members of Curtin and Pearce as well as Senators Cormann and Cash in the cabinet room and the members for Stirling and Hasluck sitting in the ministry, Western Australia is only in line to receive four per cent of the total share of the $90 billion federal shipbuilding budget.

There are WA companies ready to go with more shipbuilding work in WA—Austal, Civmec, Hofmann Engineering and many others—not just down at the AMC, but in my electorate of Burt as well. They have the technology, skills and the highly-trained WA workforce. What they do not have are strong advocates for a Western Australian shipbuilding industry in this federal government, despite the glorious job that the deputy Liberal leader may think that she is doing.