Australian Submarine Corporation Jobs

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): My question is to the Premier. Has the Premier's government done any work, in the form of any economic modelling, regarding the potential job losses as a result of not having full cycle docking?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Point of order, Mr Speaker: this question is hypothetical in its construction.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:15): I am happy to answer it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I have allowed the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The reality is that no decision has been made with regard to the full cycle docking. This is a decision which will ultimately be taken by the National Security Committee, which is a subset of the Australian government cabinet. We are continuing to provide a compelling bid to the federal government. It's fair to say, as I was outlining in my earlier answer today, that there was a decision made by the federal government. In fact, while those opposite were on these benches, a decision was made for the maintenance to be done out of South Australia. We didn't hear them complain at that point in time.

They didn't complain when mid-cycle docking and intermediate docking moved to Western Australia, and they didn't complain when a decision was made to actually take all maintenance out of South Australia ultimately. I have been working very hard every single second since I have come to government to do everything we can to make sure we put in a compelling bid to keep that work here in South Australia. I have been backing the industry and I have been backing the workers down at Osborne, and I have every expectation that a decision will be made soon, and I hope it is made soon because it will remove some of the uncertainty that exists in this sector at the moment.