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

My question is to the Minister for Defence, Senator Payne. On Tuesday the minister told the Senate that the government would deliver thousands of jobs in shipbuilding, but yesterday the ASC announced another 110 jobs in South Australia, citing its inability to maintain its workforce in the absence of an Adelaide build of the offshore patrol vessels. Minister, given your government's first shipbuilding decision was to send the contract for supply ships offshore, how many shipbuilding jobs have been lost over the past 2½ years on your government's watch?

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

I thank Senator Gallacher for his question. It is concerning, and I am concerned, that the job losses that have been announced this week at ASC are occurring, but it is absolutely the case that those opposite placed not one single order for one single vessel in the entire time of their period in government. As I have made very clear before—and as Mr Lamarre has made clear in Senate estimates—the so-called valley of death was unavoidable because of that. The difference is that this government is commissioning offshore patrol vessels, future frigates and future submarines. That is the difference. As I said in the chamber earlier in the week, it is hypocritical in the extreme for the opposition to say what they are saying about the commissioning of the supply ships. When they released that document in May 2013, they sought examination of options for local, hybrid and overseas builds or for leasing of an existing vessel. That is what they did. At the time, they also knew that they had advice that an Australian build of the replacement supply ships was not viable. Their own 2013 Future submarine industry skills plan states that the common user facility in Adelaide which supports ASC is not capable of accommodating the large supply ships as the current ship lift would require to be significantly lengthened in order to carry vessels the size of the replacement supply ships. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. When he was Prime Minister, the honourable Tony Abbott repeatedly promised to build the first few offshore patrol vessels in South Australia. Yet Prime Minister Turnbull's defence white paper failed to deliver on Mr Abbott's promise. Minister, how many more jobs will go in South Australia as a result of your government's decision to walk away from Mr Abbott's promise to build the first few offshore patrol vessels in Adelaide?

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

As Mr Lamarre said in estimates in February this year:

Well, I would say that many of those job losses are unavoidable, irrespective of the start date for the OPV or decision round of the OPV … there is no avoiding the down ramp that we are on from this 1,400 we are at today.

  …   …   …

Just to be clear, as I mentioned before, we are on a steady decline. So, there is nothing that is going to avoid us getting down to the several hundred …

But the difference is that this government will build offshore patrol vessels and future frigates and will acquire future submarines, in complete and distinct contrast to those opposite, who did absolutely nothing. The result of that will be thousands of jobs for Australian workers, and I stand by that absolutely.

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

Mr President, I ask a final supplementary question. Former Prime Minister Abbott and former defence minister Andrews repeatedly promised 500 new highly skilled jobs as a result of the future submarine build. They instructed that the submarines be delivered by the mid-2020s. Minister, seeing as your defence white paper clearly states the future submarines will not be delivered until the early 2030s, when will the 500 new jobs start?

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

I thank Senator Gallacher for that supplementary question. As progress continues towards the future submarines and, particularly, the integration of the combat systems—as I have said before, we have endorsed the combat system and heavyweight torpedo jointly developed by the United States and Australia as the main armament for the future submarines—that is involving industry-wide participation. It is a very important part of the process, and those jobs are starting now.