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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Defence Workforce Plan

Ms LUETHEN (King) (11:52): I move:

That this house—

(a) acknowledges the state government’s Defence Workforce Plan to ensure South Australia has the skilled workforce required to fully capitalise on the federal government’s $90 billion investment in naval shipbuilding;

(b) recognises the confidence in the sector and the future potential of South Australia’s shipbuilding industry, particularly in line with the recent success of Adelaide’s MG Engineering and Whyalla’s Ottoway Engineering being awarded contracts by the Fincantieri to build cruise ship blocks as part of their global supply chain; and

(c) acknowledges the state government’s commitment to training a skilled workforce in line with defence industry needs, including through apprenticeships, retraining initiatives and the Defence Industry Employment Program for ex-service personnel.

I proudly rise to move this motion today, as its objectives speak directly to the ambitions many of my residents and businesses in King told me were most important to them when I knocked on their door. When I asked, 'What is most important to you?', most people told me jobs, economic growth and cost of living. So many people told me that we need to keep our talented young people in South Australia and we need to create more job opportunities in South Australia. The Marshall Liberal state government is working hard every day to deliver real change in South Australia, change that creates more jobs, lower costs for families and businesses, and better government services.

We have created a strong foundation and will keep building on what we have started, delivering for individuals, for families and for the community. During my maiden speech, I shared important feedback that King community members told me mattered most to them. They told me that they had lost faith in the government when they observed the former government throw money around with promise after promise of how they were going to create jobs. One resident told me he had heard that the former government had a plan to grow a forest of money trees to deliver on their promises. Well, we are not dreaming: we have a plan, a long-term strategic plan.

Our plan to create jobs and a skilled workforce in South Australia is so important because, sadly, when I was campaigning across King, I met residents who had sold their homes to move interstate to find jobs as they had given up on jobs in South Australia. I spoke to a King resident who has moved interstate for work. She has left behind two teenage children with their father so as not to disrupt their life in South Australia, where they would rather be living as a family, but there are not enough jobs for the whole family to do so. Too many people are having to look interstate for jobs. Too many young, talented South Australians have had to move away from our wonderful state, and it is a travesty.

I am proud to be part of this Marshall Liberal government, which will create jobs and economic growth in South Australia. This is important because unemployment affects more than just an individual's financial position. It impacts the ability to put food on the table for a family. It impacts self-confidence, self-belief and eventually our ability. It impacts people's chances of being the best they can be. It can be mentally exhausting to stay positive while searching continuously for work, application after application. With every application for employment, we open ourselves up for judgement and rejection.

Creating job opportunities and a skilled workforce is and will be an important determinant of South Australia's future living standards and wellbeing for all South Australians. South Australia has the opportunity to develop a world-class maritime industry base and a highly skilled workforce with expertise across all naval shipbuilding activities. We will continue to support local companies and workers to ensure they benefit from the offshore patrol vessel, future frigate and future submarine programs.

The Australian government is investing around $90 billion in the continuous build of new submarines, major service combatants and minor vessels. We will support local industry participation in the global supply chain of naval shipbuilding projects and we will promote export readiness. We will provide support to the Australian government and key stakeholders to ensure expansion of the Osborne naval shipbuilding precinct is a success in South Australia. Our Marshall Liberal government will ensure South Australia has the skilled workforce required to fully capitalise on the federal government's $90 billion investment in naval shipbuilding.

Our Marshall government will develop a comprehensive Defence Workforce Plan to review the existing skills base in local industry and forecast the type of qualifications and number of workers needed during the next 20 years. The size and specialist qualifications of the shipbuilding workforce in South Australia need to develop significantly to meet the requirements of the federal government's naval shipbuilding plan and reap the substantial rewards on offer for our state.

The South Australian government must adopt a proactive role in developing a local naval shipbuilding workforce to ensure South Australia's skilled workers can meet the future demands of the defence industry. The Defence Workforce Plan is critical to ensuring South Australia fully capitalises on this once in a generation opportunity in naval shipbuilding. Under the Defence Workforce Plan, our Marshall Liberal government will identify requisite qualifications for inclusion on the Subsidised Training List. It will support accredited registered training organisations to provide automotive workers with the formal recognition of prior learning, which can be used to gain new qualifications in relevant areas.

We will fund 1,200 apprenticeships within those qualifications over the next four years, and we will work with the new naval shipbuilding college being established in Adelaide to develop and obtain accreditation for a diploma of naval shipbuilding, enabling South Australians to develop skills needed to perform managerial and supervisory roles.

Our government's $100 million investment over the next four years to deliver over 20,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships, with a further $87 million so far successfully secured through the commonwealth government's Skilling Australians Fund, will help us meet the workforce needs of the defence sector. The Weatherill government had more than halved apprenticeship numbers over the last five years and were content to sit on their hands and watch a skills shortage develop. After 16 years of Labor neglect and complacency, we will take a strong action to take advantage of this opportunity and establish the capacity for a continuous naval shipbuilding program in our state.

South Australia's economic future will be significantly bolstered through this naval shipbuilding, and we need to maximise local employment opportunities. These commitments are part of our strong plan for real change to create more jobs, lower costs and provide better services. Our Marshall Liberal government will ensure that we will make the most of this opportunity for all South Australians to benefit. I commend this motion to members of this house.

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (12:00): I rise to support the member for King's motion in an amended way. I move amendments to the motion as follows:

Delete paragraph (a) and replace it with:

(a) recognises the impact of the advocacy campaign Australian Made Defence that reversed the policy of four major defence procurements being sourced overseas in favour of developing a sovereign capability for future naval shipbuilding; and

(b) urges the South Australian government to seek a commitment from the federal government that full-cycle docking maintenance of Collins class submarines be retained at ASC's Osborne shipyard along with the 700 jobs that support it;

I acknowledge the Liberal Party's 'better late than never' conversion to the concept of Australia having a sovereign naval shipbuilding capability. Maximising the economic impact of that industry, whilst ensuring it delivers the best possible capability for the Australian Navy, will require an attentive and steadfast state government. Let's be clear on the state government's record on the defence industry. The federal and state Liberal parties were ready to sink this industry and the thousands of jobs that went with it. Despite a 2013 election promise for a new fleet of Australian-built submarines to replace the Collins class, prime minister Tony Abbott and then defence minister David Johnston soon developed another idea.

In mid-2014, minister Johnston signed a defence pact with Japan and, as we know, negotiations started for Australia to buy its subs overseas. The Weatherill Labor government alerted South Australians to the plans when a delegation of Japanese submarine experts arrived at ASC's shipyards in Osborne. The federal member for Sturt sought to calm local concern when he told Sky News in October, to paraphrase, 'It's okay. We will still get the maintenance work.' Even a year later, on ABC Radio National's Breakfast program, the most senior Liberal in South Australia said:

Even if the submarines aren't built in Adelaide from the ground up, more than 50 per cent of the cost of submarines is maintenance and sustainment and that can…be done [here] in Adelaide.

Let's put that in perspective. Maintenance work on submarines sustains about 700 jobs at ASC in Adelaide. A continuous build Australian-made program sustains approximately 6,900 jobs. That is why the Australian Labor Party went into overdrive both locally and federally, in lock step with unions, defence industry and even some rebel and courageous Liberals, to ensure that the biggest defence procurement in Australian history was done in Australia by Australians for Australia.

The success of the Australian Made Defence campaign will deliver 6,900 jobs, which is around 10 times the number of jobs that the Liberal Party here in South Australia was happy to settle for. There is a temptation to say, 'Well done,' and pat ourselves on the back for winning that battle, but the challenge has only just begun. Just last month, defence minister Payne confirmed that her department was looking at options to move major maintenance work away from the Osborne shipyard to the Henderson yards in Western Australia.

Recently, Western Australian Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds made it clear that Western Australia wanted those South Australian maintenance jobs. In an interview with online news site Defence Connect, Senator Reynolds said that Western Australia was going ahead, with the federal government's assistance, with a master plan for the next 15 years for Henderson shipyards near Fremantle. Senator Reynolds said, 'If we get the infrastructure right, we can be a sustainment and maintenance hub for the next 50 years.'

Make absolutely no mistake, Western Australia want all the submarine sustainment work—work and skills that were developed here in South Australia. This is the essence of the battle: to make sure that the jobs promised to South Australians are delivered to South Australians and kept here in South Australia.

Local content in ship construction will be key to whether or not this hard fought victory for local jobs will be delivered. It will not take much for a frigate designer or a submarine designer to suggest that perhaps it is better to build major components in France, Italy or Spain. That is not because they are duplicitous. It is because they have a responsibility to their own shareholders and workforce. It is why the Australian government must mandate local content benchmarks and rules on what local content means. A skilled workforce is critical to the successful delivery of a continuous build program and national sovereign capability. This industry will also generate thousands of additional jobs with suppliers.

The federal government announced in May 2017 that a naval shipbuilding college would commence operation in Adelaide on 1 January this year. That was the last we heard of it until after the state election when, lo and behold, it was confirmed in an announcement by minister Pyne on 2 April 2018. The college will start enrolments sometime after June, the minister's statement said. That is hardly a rock solid workforce plan.

What we need is a business plan showing how the Liberal governments, state and federal, will maximise Australian content on our shipbuilding projects, how and where the necessary skills will be developed and how the skills will be available in time for Australian industry and workers to take part in this once in a generation opportunity.

Our universities have been busy signing cooperation arrangements with shipbuilders and prime contract suppliers for education programs to deliver skilled workers for decades to come. The groundwork has been done. Through its sustained campaign from 2014 to 2017, the Labor Party showed Australia it will stand up for local workers, stand up for local industry and stand up for a local defence force capability. If the state government takes its eye off the ball, those gains will be eroded. It will not be enough to stand side by side with their Liberal mates for a photo opportunity. You have to actually stand up and fight for South Australia.

In May 2016, defence industry minister Pyne told Channel 9 News that less than a tenth of construction work on Australia's 12 submarines will be done outside the nation, yet in the two years since that has been watered down to what is called 'maximised local content'. The state government needs to define what that level is and hold the federal government to account, not just be a bunch of patsies. Failure to be strident in defence of local jobs will mean that you will lose those local jobs. The member for King might think it is just a case of saying, 'Thank you for the crumbs,' but South Australians remember how tough we had to fight for our shipbuilding industry and we know how tough it will be to keep it.

The motion acknowledges the recent success of Adelaide's MG Engineering and Whyalla's Ottoway Engineering in being awarded contracts by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build cruise ship blocks as part of their global supply chain. MG Engineering is a story of persistence in the face of adversity. At the end of 2014, the Moorhouse Road business was in trouble. Construction of huge mast ship blocks for the air warfare destroyer program ended in late 2014. For the managing director and the 100 workers, the valley of death had arrived early.

For two years, the company was working month to month, just surviving. Engineering was one of the reasons Labor fought so hard for the shipbuilding industry. It is why the South Australian Labor government underpinned MG's bid for a prawn trawler contract with a $2 million grant. It is why in 2017 the state Labor government agreed to a $1.25 billion grant under the Future Jobs Fund program to upgrade MG Engineering's slipway and build a new workshop, creating an anticipated 64 jobs.

We on this side of the chamber, we in the Australian Labor Party, understand that governments have a responsibility to stand up and fight. It is not enough to sit back and take directions from the federal government for the sake of a photo opportunity. One has to do more than that. We will not stand silent and watch this state government relinquish 700 jobs for full cycle docking of the submarines in Adelaide to Western Australia. We will stand up and fight and we will make sure that South Australians' voices are heard to keep these jobs in South Australia where they belong.

Mr DULUK (Waite) (12:11): I congratulate the member for King again on being positive and thinking about South Australia's future. I love when the Leader of the Opposition comes in here and obviously has to show. He could not even get half of his shadow cabinet to come and listen to his contribution.

Mr Malinauskas: They're all working hard, mate. They're all working hard.

Mr DULUK: Martin Hamilton-Smith, the member for Waite, when he was part of the Labor government, claimed it was because of him that we have submarines in South Australia. He had never actually once met with defence minister Pyne or Payne. He had no seat at the table, and the Labor Party when they were in government had no credibility at this table.

In fact, they had so little credibility that during that whole term of Labor at a federal level when Kevin Rudd was the prime minister and then Julia Gillard was the prime minister and then Kevin Rudd became the prime minister again, not one single offshore patrol vessel was built, not one single submarine contract was entered into, or even designed or conceptualised.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr DULUK: I would really like to know what conversations the member for Cheltenham when he was the premier, or the former member for Waite when he became the Liberal turncoat and supported the Labor government, had with the Rudd-Gillard administration about bringing jobs to South Australia. I will tell you: zero.

An honourable member: She ran the ASC.

Mr DULUK: She did run the ASC. Where was the federal member for Port Adelaide in fighting for when he was sitting around the federal cabinet table fighting for jobs in his own electorate? Nowhere—nowhere. What we get today from the Leader of the Opposition is nothing more than politics. He is a bit afraid at the moment.

The member for Lee yesterday in his contribution on the productivity commission spoke really well. He got up and spoke off the cuff with very few notes. I reckon he went on for close to two hours and almost took us to the dinner break. It was a very enjoyable contribution that raised a lot of good issues. He actually wants to be the leader of the Labor Party. The Leader of the Opposition comes in and cannot even stay for the rest of the contribution today. He reads off his clipboard notes. It was a very disappointing effort by the new Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Pederick: Or is he?

Mr DULUK: Or is he? Is he really or is it still the godfather himself, Don Farrell, pulling the pins? I don't know.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Waite, I will bring you back to the motion, please.

Mr DULUK: Thank you, sir. This is about supporting the member for King's motion, which is absolutely on the ball. We are committed to defence investment in South Australia. That is what the Liberal government is doing. We are working—

The Hon. A. Piccolo: That's why Tony Abbott went to Japan.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, member for Light!

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member will be heard in silence. The member for Waite.

Mr DULUK: We are working collaboratively with the federal government for the benefit of South Australia and indeed the nation, because in defence you need a plan. You cannot just whip up a scare campaign as those opposite are trying to do. It is a pretty important industry. Congratulations to the member for King on talking about some really important issues. A lot of the work she has been doing as the member is looking at that whole skill and trade area.

The Marshall Liberal government is committed to supporting local participation in the global supply chains, which is so important in terms of the naval shipbuilding programs. Having government involvement is more than just having photo opportunities, as the former premier and the former minister for defence industries in the previous government used to do. We will provide support to the Australian government and key stakeholders to ensure the expansion of the Osborne Naval Shipbuilding Precinct is a success.

We are seeing the rollout of the offshore patrol vessels and the construction of those vessels in South Australia and the jobs that they will bring. The Leader of the Opposition mentioned the valley of death. We probably all have constituents in our electorates who have worked at ASC or do work at ASC and have been caught up in the valley of death. I have talked in this house a number of times about the importance of jobs and sensible planning.

It is not the blame game that is required, but there is no doubt that the lack of firm decision-making by previous federal government administrations has actually led to the valley of death. That is an indictment of those opposite who supported the former Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor administrations and their lack of decision-making and who were happy to see South Australian jobs go, in particular, to the socialist Kevin Andrews government in Victoria. That government was very keen to poach South Australian naval—

Mr Brown: Daniel Andrews. Kevin Andrews is one of yours.

Mr DULUK: Dan Andrews. I correct the record. If the member for Menzies ever knew that I called him a socialist he would be very upset—the Dan Andrews socialist government. They were hot to trot in that Rudd-Gillard period about taking jobs from South Australia. At that time, minister Combet, a Victorian, was really pushing that agenda. We will not be lectured in this state parliament by those opposite about what we apparently did or did not do in and around defence shipbuilding.

Naval Group Australia, which has been selected as the international design partner for the Future Submarine Program, estimates that 2,800 jobs will be created in South Australia: about 1,100 direct jobs on the build, about 1,700 supply chain jobs, and 270 Australian jobs will be created in the detail, design and production planning activities. Naval Group Australia currently employs approximately 80 staff in SA and aims to double this figure by the end of this year.

Osborne will also be the location for the creation of the Future Frigate Program, which will be a fleet of about nine vessels. Not one future frigate was designed in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era. Once again, this led to the valley of death. The supply chain needs time to build up. We are doing that. The Abbott-Turnbull governments have been doing that. The Turnbull government and minister Payne and minister Pyne are working with this Liberal government to ensure future jobs in South Australia in the naval shipbuilding sector.

These programs will transform the South Australian economy. It is expected that, by the mid-2020s, the naval shipbuilding workforce will reach 5,200 members—and that is a great thing. I would like to hear those opposite, including the member for Ramsay when she gets up to make her contribution, actually say that this is a fantastic thing that governments are delivering for the people of South Australia. There will be 1,400 people employed in the outfitting workforce, 1,000 people in the structural workforce, and 3,000 people in management roles.

We have a state defence workforce plan. We took that plan to the election. We are committed to developing a comprehensive defence workforce plan and consulting with industry and the federal government. We will develop this plan by reviewing the existing skills base and local industry. I commend the minister, the member for Unley, for his work in this area around skills and investing in TAFE and the skills industry and looking at the next five, 10, 15, 20 years as well, in that planning.

We will also support the existing WorkReady scheme to get the right skills required for this new industry and new work. We will fund registered training organisations to provide current and former automotive workers with a formal recognition of prior learning, which will allow the workers to gain new qualifications in the area as well. We are looking at what the skills shortages are at the moment in South Australia and working towards skilling these people up so they can work in this new, exciting defence manufacturing sector.

As part of our plan to create over 20,000 apprenticeships and traineeships in South Australia, 1,200 of those will be created over the next four years. They will be part of our defence industry partnerships. It is our priority to always ensure that we have the right skill mix for our industry. I once again commend the member the King for her contribution to this debate and know that she is serious in working with the government, both state and federal, and her community to deliver for the people of South Australia.

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (12:19): I rise to support the amended motion. This is a great opportunity for South Australia to continue its historical role in defence naval shipbuilding. Opportunities do not become a reality without dedication and focus. This is true for our defence and the commitment to a sovereign naval shipbuilding capacity. Only the Australian Labor Party went into overdrive locally and federally, in lock step with unions and the defence industry, to ensure that the biggest defence procurement in Australian history was by Australian for Australians.

I recognise that there is a defence work plan; however, I am concerned that there is a lack of targets, pathways and dedicated mentoring to harness the complete opportunity that is before us. Firstly, my interest is in regard to the continuation of the skills that we already have in the state and the long-term planning to enable a flexible, trained and educated workforce.

Secondly, my concern is around identifying what those skills will be. What are the skills we need to continue to be heavily involved in this work, and how is the government communicating to parents and to students the diversity of career opportunities? We know that workforce demand will peak in 2027 when the work on the future frigates, the future submarines and the Poseidon will be at its most significant.

When we look at the skills that will be required, what will be the types of jobs at this time? It is my understanding that three-quarters will be for a trade, with a trade qualification of certificate III or above and about 5 per cent each for professional management, semiprofessionals, technicals with certificate IV to advanced diplomas and semiprofessional business operations, certificate III to IV. The trade demand will most significantly be for fabrication.

At its peak, I understand there will be a need for more than 1,000 workers with this trade qualification, with electrical and metal fitters following in second and third place. While we know that it was the hard work of the previous government to make sure that we continue to have this work in South Australia, we cannot drop the ball now. We must continue when we see that there are other states constantly advocating for an increased share of this shipbuilding work.

I want to talk a little bit more about the skills and the training. I am particularly interested in the role of women in the Defence Workforce Plan. It looks like we have some visitors in the gallery who might support my interest. In Australia in 2015, less than 10 per cent of tradespeople were women. In the trade of electrician, only 1.3 per cent are women. My concern is if having a trade qualification is where the majority of the opportunity to work on this shipbuilding will be, how are we attracting, training and keeping women in these trades?

When I look at the research about why women do not take up a trade as a career, there is some historical context with quite strong divisions between what was considered a male occupation and more feminised work. Traditionally, women were teachers, nurses or in administration, whereas for men, trades have always been available. My father is a fitter and turner by trade. His father was also a fitter and turner, who worked in the railways for many years—in fact, his whole career. That was seen as a very solid opportunity to get ahead.

When we look at why women have not entered the trades, there are both practical and cultural barriers. Even though we know that women and girls can do anything, we must address that these are some of the concerns. We need to increase awareness and visibility of women in trades. In government, we promoted this in several ways. We supported the STEM Sisters program, which was a mentoring program often with girls who were in late high school who had expressed interest in doing an apprenticeship or a trade and they were matched with someone who was at university or in their first or second year of work.

We also had the STEM Selfie program, which increased the visibility of women in trades, particularly around science, technology, engineering and maths, and which indicated that these are the jobs of the future, and you need to start doing it through your whole education.

In terms of one of the things where I did some work, I encouraged the current minister for industry and trade to be in liaison with the office for the status of women. They have done quite a bit of work in this area. One of the concerning things is when girls and women drop out in terms of STEM. We know that girls in year five have consideration that is equal with boys in terms of their confidence about maths, but by year 7, already they are feeling there are some differences between them and the boys. That is the first area—that we see girls drop out of STEM.

There are four other areas in people's careers. Going forward into high school, we see it in the subject choices made then. We also see it when students are looking at what degrees they might do at university or when they do not seek out a trade qualification. We also know that we have some cultural issues, because women also drop out of STEM careers and also if they have made it through to the trades. They need to be mentored and supported. These are the jobs of the future, whether they be trades that support science, technology, engineering and maths. But we need to know, if we are going to work for 50 years between the ages of 20 and 70, and if these are the jobs of the future: how are we going to support people to stay in these areas?

The South Australian Defence Workforce Plan must focus on enabling us to activate all of our workforce. South Australian women and girls need to be supported in order to understand the opportunities and recognise that trades are well paid, highly skilled jobs that should be under consideration.

While we do have this workforce plan which has been acknowledged today, my support for the amendment is around recognising how we even got to this position—realising that to maintain this position we must continue our advocacy about South Australia being the best place for shipbuilding and maintenance. My personal area of interest—and I will continue to look at this—is increasing the role of girls and of women in trades and STEM professions. I encourage you to support the amendment.

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