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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-10-27 Daily Xml
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Defence Shipbuilding

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (15:48): Today, I rise to speak about the defence sector in South Australia and the phenomenal work the Marshall Liberal government and the federal Morrison government have been doing to ensure our national security and to improve our defence capability.

Last month, the federal government announced the thrilling news that South Australia will now be home to the construction of Australia's first fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. This deal has also secured an array of defence projects, including the life-of-type extension, upgrades to the air warfare destroyer and the full cycle docking of the Collins class. These projects alone have secured thousands of jobs for South Australians for decades to come.

This success is something the federal Labor Party was persistent on relocating to Western Australia, but we have secured it right here in South Australia, reaffirming our position as the maritime capital of the nation. This settlement is expected to see up to 5,000 extra jobs within the naval shipbuilding industry by 2030, with already more than 25 vessels constructed or upgraded right here in South Australia. South Australia alone has some of the most experienced shipbuilding defence workers in the country, whose skills will now be utilised and in demand.

Our federal and state governments recognise that for Naval Group and some in the industry the cancellation of the Attack class submarine program has had a huge impact. Having spent part of my career working for defence contractors, BAE Systems and Serco, I do appreciate the uncertainty faced. However, the government is already working to support those skilled workers impacted to transition into new positions so we can utilise their skills and experience to better South Australia and our defence sector.

The Premier has already met with the heads of major defence companies with significant operations in South Australia to discuss how to support the transition of these incredibly skilled workers and to maximise business opportunities for local companies. These companies expressed that their priority is to employ the impacted skilled workers.

Another new initiative is the AUKUS partnership, a trilateral security scheme between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. AUKUS is not only a remarkable approach to strengthening our regional security, it also ensures deepened diplomatic, security and defence cooperation between our allies, where we can focus on our cyber capabilities, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and undersea capabilities.

Just one part of this scheme involves the building of the nuclear-powered submarine fleet right here in South Australia, where we can firsthand contribute to the building of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines for operation by the Royal Australian Navy—a huge honour.

South Australia is home to the Osborne Naval Shipyard, one of two major shipbuilding hubs nationally. I am very excited that the Collins full cycle docking will continue to be conducted at Osborne in South Australia, rolling into the Collins class life-of-type extension from 2026. Osborne South will present the construction of the first two Arafura class offshore patrol vessels and nine Hunter class frigates, along with upgrades to the Hobart class air warfare destroyer.

Of all the defence investment in Australia, our maritime forces contribute the largest financial investment to our national defence. Our cost estimates for nuclear-powered submarines will be determined through our negotiations with AUKUS and include an estimated $64 billion to $86 billion in investment schemes, making it our most imperative unit of force to protect Australia.

To conclude, I am extremely proud to be part of the state that will be home to Australia's first nuclear-powered submarines, and I am very pleased to see the thousands of South Australians who will be employed under this new agreement.

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