Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Gallacher, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Australia's Collins Class submarines are a vital capability of the Australian Defence Force,

(ii) in June 2011 the Navy could not put one of our six Collin Class submarines to sea,

(iii) it took more than half a decade and a significant amount of taxpayer's money to restore submarine seagoing availability,

(iv) the current Collins Class submarine maintenance arrangements, with short term maintenance activities in Western Australia and deep maintenance, embodied in the full cycle dockings, in South Australia, are achieving world benchmarks,

(v) the Minister for Defence stated that the decision on the future location of full cycle dockings would be made by the end of 2019, and

(vi) we are now into 2021, with workers, defence industry and the public still waiting for the decision to be announced; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to put an end to the uncertainty and announce the decision regarding the location for all Collins Class Submarine full cycle docking activities going forward.

Question agreed to.

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.

Scott Ryan (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

South Australia is at the forefront of the government's plan and $75 billion investment to ensure Australia has the maritime capabilities needed to defend Australia. The Osborne naval shipbuilding hub grew by 300 jobs in 2020 to 2,800 jobs today and will continue to grow to 5,000 jobs by 2025. Likewise, at Henderson there are more than 1,300 jobs, with more growth to occur with future build programs. This is giving Australian industry confidence and certainty in our shipbuilding plans. As part of our investment, government is carefully considering the needs of our submarine capability, including the future location of the full-cycle docking activities for the Collins Class submarine. As we have made clear, a decision on this will be made after careful consideration of all the relevant information and on the basis of what is in the national interest.

Question agreed to.