Rex Patrick (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Defence Industry, Senator Payne, and relates to ASC's role in the naval shipbuilding program. The government has offshored two supply ships to Spanish shipyards. It has offshored one icebreaker to a Romanian shipyard. It has prohibited ASC from tendering in the Future Frigate program. I have a letter here from Minister Payne to Naval Group suggesting that they didn't need to engage ASC in the Future Submarine build. You can see that it is no wonder ASC are laying off South Australian workers, because they have no work on their order book other than the OPV. Can the minister please tell the chamber what role ASC will have in the build of the Future Submarine, or is the government engaging in a deliberate ASC euthanasia?