Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to make a contribution to Take Note of Answers. Before I go to the answer to Senator Conroy's question by Minister Payne, it is very clear that, if there are a number of children up there, they would best take advice from their parents, not from a very loud senator on the other side of the chamber, about the reality. If they do investigate, they will find that this government, which keeps blaming the previous government for all its problems, has actually doubled the deficit. On that point, I will rest.

There have been three words thrown out in recent times by almost all of the frontbench: nimble, agile and innovation. With respect to those three points, I just want to put one thing on the public record once again: the coalition today is committed to building 12 new submarines in Adelaide. We will get that task done. It is a really important task, not just for the Navy but for the nation, and we are going to see the project through and will put it very close after force protection as our No. 1 priority if we win the next federal election. They have been very nimble: two prime ministers have dodged the issue—not one but two. They have been very agile: three defence ministers—not one, not two but three defence ministers—have dodged the issue. Innovation—the competitive evaluation process. When it was announced, even the minister did not understand it. He struggled at a press conference to explain what it was about. Minister Andrews gave the worst press conference probably in the history of defence ministers in that he did not understand what he was announcing. It was very clear that he was all at sea—no pun intended. What is exceptionally clear is that no-one in South Australia has forgotten this. I was at Port Augusta last Sunday at a sub-branch meeting and it was raised there: 'What are we doing about our manufacturing base? What are we doing about manufacturing bases all over the regional area and also in Adelaide? Where are our next generation of apprentices going to get employment? When are we going to get an announcement to build these submarines?'

It is very instructive to go back a little bit further. When I was on the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, there was a very important Australian National Audit Office report published. As a member of that committee, it was delivered to me embargoed. I got that embargoed copy at 10 o'clock on the morning before it was presented in the chamber and I read it, but I did not need to because it was in the Financial Review the night before. I came into this chamber and said, 'One would hope that the minister's office didn't leak that information,' which was highly critical of the workforce in South Australia. Let's revisit what the minister said. He was asked:

Why has the minister resorted to trashing the hard-working men and women of the Australian ship and submarine building industry in order to justify breaking his promise—

that is, Minister Johnston—

Isn't it time that government held a competitive tender process—

not a valuation process—

for our new submarine fleet so that the Australian people can be confident that the submarines were chosen on merit, not the personal bias of the minister?

Then it became very apparent what this government thinks of the workers in shipbuilding and submarines. The minister, in all his glory, responded in this chamber by telling the Australian people that he did not trust the ASC, the Australian Submarine Corporation, to build a canoe. That is what they think of workers in South Australia; that is what they think of manufacturing workers in South Australia. They were only dragged to this argument kicking and screaming at the threat of their electoral losses in South Australia and they invented the competitive evaluation process to cover their nimble, agile and innovative stance. Two prime ministers and three defence ministers running away from pre-election commitments—it is a disgrace. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.