Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for her supplementary question. It gives me the opportunity to speak in a little more detail about the South Australian defence industry workforce and skills report and action plan that was released on Friday. That plan highlights that the defence industry in South Australia is forecast to grow from its current level of around 3½ thousand direct jobs to more than 8½ thousand direct jobs in the 2040s. Of course, what we need to do is act now to ensure we're able to recruit enough people with the right skills in five years and 10 years and beyond, and that is what the government is doing.

The action plan details a strategy to grow and sustain South Australia's defence industry workforce, the workforce that is required to deliver the largest and most complex defence project Australia has undertaken. It reaffirms the government's commitment to ensuring a continuous naval shipbuilding capability. The Deputy Prime Minister also announced the formal arrangement for land transfers between the Commonwealth and Australia to enable the development of a construction yard and the skills and training— (Time expired)