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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-06-20 Daily Xml
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Worker Transitioning

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:04): My question is to the Minister for Industry and Skills. Can the minister confirm that transitioning workers from other industries, such as the automotive sector, is one of six skills and employment focus areas in the development of South Australia's defence industry workforce? I seek leave to make an explanation.

Leave granted.

Ms BETTISON: An internal government document, titled SA Defence Industry Workforce Development, dated 9 May, states that transitioning workers from other industries, such as the automotive work sector, will be one of six skills and employment focus areas in the development of South Australia's defence industry workforce.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:05): As you would be aware, as the Minister for Defence and Space Industries we are doing a huge amount of work at the moment to make sure that we have the requisite workforce in place to deliver on some of the most incredible contracts this state has ever seen. The reality is that we need to make a plan to determine what the total workforce requirement is going to be, the specific skills that are going to be required, and exactly and precisely when they are going to be needed.

One of the issues we have canvassed in question time over the course of this year is the issue around technical skills, in particular apprentices and trainees, because we have seen a major freefall in terms of the number of commencements in apprenticeships and traineeships in South Australia. This actually provides a very large problem for us, going forward. That's why in opposition we spoke extensively about the need for the development of a naval shipbuilding skills task force. This was rejected by the previous government.

That's why, in coming to government, we have done what we can to create a workforce plan. This is not something that the South Australian government can do in isolation. This is something we are working with the federal government on, to look at what the requirements are going to be. We are very concerned that if we don't get this right the implications for South Australia can actually be quite dire. I just present this to you as an example of our level of concern.

If we don't get the skills in the right quantities and the right skill levels in place to deliver on these major shipbuilding contracts that are coming to South Australia, there are two potential consequences. Firstly, we won't realise the full potential of the contracts which are coming to us from the commonwealth. This would be shameful. We need to get every single dollar we can into South Australia and keep it in South Australia, and this is why it's a critical issue.

The second consequence of not getting it right is that quite possibly the naval shipbuilding construction program will suck up the available technical skills that exist in South Australia and utilise them in that sector. This could have the perverse effect of actually removing these critical skills from other important sectors in our economy—agriculture, construction, mining and advanced manufacturing. These are our real concerns, and that is why we are doing everything we can to come up with a comprehensive plan. That is why we are considering what people from what sectors, which may be experiencing downturns or a changing arrangement in terms of their workforce, can be retrained to be useful and productive in defence jobs, going forward.

We are on the cusp of a major jobs boom in terms of defence jobs in South Australia. It has been a long time coming, and that is the consequence of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd lack of decision in terms of shipbuilding. Since the Coalition came to power, we have seen the commissioning—

Dr Close interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Sorry?

The SPEAKER: Order! Please do not respond to interjections, sir.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It's almost impossible to believe that the member for Port Adelaide or any members would be having a go at the Coalition's performance in this area. Since the Coalition came to power—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Can I make the point that since the Coalition came to power they have commissioned 54 vessels for the Royal Australian Navy. Let me tell you how many were commissioned—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —under the former Labor government: zero, not one. Where were those opposite?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They were as silent as church mice, absolutely hopeless, not standing up for South Australians.

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