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

I thank Senator Patrick for his question, which echoes, or shadows perhaps, some of the matters raised by Senator Carr in his earlier question. Senator Patrick raised the location of the build of the two supply ships in his question and related that to his remarks around the offshore patrol vessels, as I understood that question. Just in relation to that matter, it is a matter of record that for the supply ships to have been built in Australia and to still allow for the build of the offshore patrol vessels and the Future Frigates—and it will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following this—that order would have to have been placed by the previous government to ensure that the shipyards were able to take the supply ship build plus the OPV build plus the Future Frigate build. As Senator Patrick is painfully aware, no orders for any ships were placed by the previous government—not one single naval ship in this country. So, in that regard, the government did prioritise the development of the offshore patrol vessels and the development of the Future Frigates. And to ensure that we did not have a capability gap in terms of the supply ships, we are procuring those through the processes to which Senator Patrick has referred.

Senator Patrick also asked about the ASC and its status from the government's perspective. I said in response to Senator Carr that, of course, the first two of the offshore patrol vessels will be built at Osborne by ASC Shipbuilding—and that is also a matter of record. As Senator Patrick also notes, the next generation of frigates, the Hunter class frigates, will be built by ASC Shipbuilding at the Osborne naval shipyard. This is a $35 billion program. It will create 4,000 jobs right around the country and create unprecedented opportunities for businesses large and small.