DEFENCE INDUSTRY

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): Given that the Premier has said that he does stand by their 2010 election policy that more jobs will open up in defence industries in South Australia, can he explain where these jobs are actually going to come from, given that the federal government has cut in excess of $5 billion out of defence spending in their recent budgets?

The SPEAKER: I'll allow that as a supplementary.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:21): The simple truth is that the cuts that have been proposed by the commonwealth government have had a relatively small effect in relation to South Australia.

Mr Marshall: Are you joking?

The SPEAKER: The leader will come to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Our opportunity is to win an increasingly greater slice of the defence procurement that exists. We already achieve 25 per cent of the nation's defence procurement. We are only 7.3 per cent of the nation's population, and so we are already batting well above our averages there. We will continue to seek a larger share of a necessarily shrinking pie, but can I say this, that the—

Mr Marshall: A necessarily shrinking pie?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well it is necessarily shrinking because the commonwealth government control defence spending.

Mr Marshall: You sound like you're endorsing it.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Now, Mr Speaker, those opposite would be better spending their breath—the federal opposition can make the single biggest decision that will rest all of this. We could have a bipartisan commitment to Future Submarines and the thousands of jobs—high-end jobs, jobs that will allow us to promote advanced manufacturing in South Australia—if it simply chose to join with us and get Tony Abbott to commit with Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia, to the future of the submarine project.

It is a very simple matter. It allows us to not only grow the defence sector in the way in which we anticipate it but actually take it to a whole new level. It's not just these 12 submarines: it's all of the other jobs that flow around it. It's the capabilities and the skills that are brought then into this state. These defence contractors, when they come from overseas to base themselves in South Australia, as they have done, are not just looking for defence contracts: they are looking for mining industry contracts.

They are very inquisitive about all of the opportunities that exist in South Australia. That's why they base themselves here, and Future Submarines will allow many more of them to come to this state in ways that will allow our economy to grow in this area. There is a very simple solution: if those opposite are concerned about defence spending, ask Tony Abbott to join with Julia Gillard and ensure that Future Submarines are locked and loaded for South Australia.