Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Gallacher, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) before the 2016 Federal election, the Government claimed that over 90% of the Future Submarines work would occur locally but subsequently backpedalled and claimed that 60% represented a local build, and

(ii) the Government failed to secure enforceable minimum Australian Industry Capability (AIC) commitments in the Future Submarines Strategic Partnering Agreement (SPA) it signed last year;

(b) recalls that in February 2020, former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne boasted the Government had ensured the SPA did not include a mandatory minimum AIC commitment, erroneously claimed that governments over past decades had not required such commitments, and opined 'nor should they';

(c) further notes that in February, Senator Reynolds announced Naval Group was committed to AIC of at least 60% of the value of its Future Submarine contract but:

(i) this includes services like language training that have nothing to do with building a submarine, and

(ii) 274 days after Senator Reynolds said this would be contractually formalised, that has not occurred; and

(d) calls on the Government to deliver on its promises and put the interests of workers, local businesses and our defence forces ahead of its political interests.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is committed to formalising the Australian industry content, AIC, into the strategic partnering agreement by the end of the year. We have a commitment from the French government, Naval Group and Naval Group Australia for a minimum of 60 per cent AIC over the life of the Attack class program. This is a floor, not a ceiling. We have every ambition and expectation of reaching the highest level of Australian industry participation. With over 1,500 potential Australian suppliers and a forecast average of 2,800 Australian jobs over the life of the program, this government is growing our sovereign capability.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again it is worth noting that the buy-in price of this project was $50 billion. The ANAO has told us that this price tag has grown to $80 billion. This is against a backdrop where we know that spending on defence infrastructure projects is one of the worst ways to spend public funds. Bang for buck, it delivers fewer jobs, it helps fewer people and it does more damage to our environment than nearly any other way of spending public funds, and, as Senator Siewert so often tells me and any other person who will listen, it is a terrible thing in this country that, when people don't have enough to eat, we plunge billions into war machines.

Question agreed to.