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

Thanks very much to Senator Reynolds for her enthusiastic welcoming of this decision by the government last Friday.

In fact, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence Industry and I announced that renowned international shipbuilder Lurssen will be the prime contractor and designer of our offshore patrol vessels. It's a $4 billion investment in cutting-edge naval technology that will create a thousand jobs across the country. Importantly, these OPVs will be built in Australia and are the start of our sovereign continuous naval shipbuilding plan that we set out in the 2016 Defence white paper.

The selection of Lurssen follows a competitive evaluation process to select the best capability and to build a sovereign naval shipbuilding industry. Importantly, we know that these OPVs will be able to deliver from day one, because it is a proven in-service design. For decades to come, these vessels will have a vital role in securing our borders and protecting our interests in the broader region. The new vessels will be larger and more capable than the current Armidale class patrol boats, and will have a key role in border protection. Their role will be to conduct enhanced patrol, intelligence and surveillance missions; search and rescue; humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; and border protection missions, both in peacetime and, potentially, in time of any conflict. They will have state-of-the-art sensors and a Saab-Australia-developed 9LV combat management system. The OPVs will be world class. They will provide the Royal Australian Navy with the best capability possible, most importantly.

We find ourselves in a very complex strategic environment, which necessitates a strong focus on security. That's why the Turnbull government is undertaking an unprecedented modernisation in peacetime of our ADF. The decision we've made on the OPVs is a key part of our unwavering commitment to our nation's security.