Ministerial Statement

Defence SA Chief Executive Appointment

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Minister for Investment and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Health Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:01): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: Today, the South Australian government has appointed Mr Richard Price as the new Chief Executive of Defence SA. Mr Price will also serve as CE of the South Australian Space Industry Centre. Mr Price joined the Defence SA team in July 2016 as the executive director of defence and industry. He has had extensive leadership experience in the defence industry, comprising maritime, land, aerospace and science and technology domains over 30 years.

Mr Price started working for British Aerospace in the UK in 1985 where he was an electronics engineer for Laser Inertial Navigation Systems. He then joined SAAB Systems where he worked in Adelaide as a project manager on the ANZAC ship Alliance and soon after became the general manager, Naval Systems. In 2009, Richard took over as deputy managing director of SAAB Systems and became the vice president and managing director in 2011.

I would like to thank Mr Andy Keough for his efforts over the past two years as CE of Defence SA. He came to Defence SA in July 2015. Members of the house might recall that this was one of the most challenging years in South Australia's defence history as the South Australian government led the charge to ensure our submarines and warships were built in Australia and not overseas.

Mr Keough's drive and commitment helped South Australia successfully lobby the federal government and change the national agenda on shipbuilding and defence procurement more broadly. We went from a proposed purchase of submarines built in Japan to a continuous shipbuilding program based in South Australia that will deliver offshore patrol vessels, future frigates and future submarines.

The state government's advocacy campaigns have been vital for the delivery of these key naval shipbuilding programs in the state, and Mr Keough and the board of Defence SA should be proud of the part they played in helping our government to achieve this task. I wish Mr Keough all the best in his new role as Managing Director of SAAB Australia. South Australians will now witness one of the most exciting times in our state's history. I again congratulate the federal government on making the right decisions on naval shipbuilding. But we must not become complacent. We still have a great challenge ahead of us.

The livelihoods of Australian families for generations to come now hinge on the federal government's ability to create a genuinely sovereign naval shipbuilding capability, not one owned by foreign government-owned multinationals. The South Australian government remains focused on creating jobs of the future and delivering maximum benefits for local workers and industry. South Australia's commitment will be showcased next week at Pacific 2017, the major naval industry expo, in Sydney, and has recently been showcased at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) conference in London.

We will continue to grow our defence and space industries as the state's economy transitions towards high-tech advanced manufacturing as its future. We continue to work hard to attract investment and expansion opportunities with companies that are focused on creating those jobs of the future. The government's vision is for a strong, sustainable economy that builds upon our strengths and our well-established defence industry, which is a strength that will continue to support a thriving economy.