Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

As I have clearly indicated to the Senate, there is no delay in the build of the future submarines. The reason we need to have a sustainment program for the Collins class submarine is that when those opposite announced in their white paper in 2009 that work had to start immediately if they were to be in service with the planned withdrawal of the Collins they did absolutely nothing. My colleagues in South Australia, though, are very pleased to see this government commit to a $50 billion investment in our security which will deliver jobs in South Australia and which will maximise Australian industry involvement. The Future Submarine program itself, for starters, will deliver hundreds of highly skilled jobs for decades to come. That is very welcome. The majority of those jobs will be through the build phase, including in combat system integration, design assurance and land based testing— (Time expired)