George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Xenophon, for that question, and thank you for your customary courtesy in giving me advance notice of the question. Whenever a job is lost, and particularly when a job is lost in the shipbuilding industry, that is a matter for regret. It is also a matter for people to take responsibility for, and you know, Senator, as we all know on this side of the chamber, that the reason why the Australian naval shipbuilding industry has faced what has been commonly described as a 'valley of death' is that, for six years, the Labor Party when in government did nothing. Not a single Australian naval ship was commenced during the entirety of the six years of the Labor government. The future submarine program was postponed and postponed and postponed again, and the air warfare destroyer project was allowed to fall behind and was the subject of massive cost overruns. That is the legacy and that is the context.

You asked me specifically about the supply ship. The Navy needs to replace the current supply ship, the HMAS Success, as soon as possible, and the HMAS Siriusdoes not provide the full level of capability that the Navy needs. I said before that the former Labor government neglected the Australian naval shipbuilding industry. The Labor government knew, because Navy told them, that Success had to be replaced. They knew that, when Success had reached the end of its operational lifespan, Sirius would not be able to fill that gap and yet they delayed as well. No supply ship was commissioned or begun under the Labor government, although they well knew that that would leave an urgent capability gap as well, which this government is attempting to fill. (Time expired)