Statement on ASC announcement
24 Aug 2016
Media release The Australian Government has been notified by the Australian Submarine Corporation of a reduction to its workforce today as the resources and skills required to complete Air Warfare Destroyers enter a different phase.
Like any major project, the requirements of this workforce has changed over time. While this slowdown is unfortunate, it is the direct result of six years of no decisions and no plan for naval shipbuilding by Labor.
The Turnbull Coalition Government has recognised this and for the first time in our history has committed to a continuous shipbuilding strategy.
The Government brought forward the construction of the Offshore Patrol Vessels to commence ahead of schedule in 2018 in South Australia.
We have already announced nine Future Frigates and twelve Submarines will be built in South Australia, work worth over $90 billion.
In addition to this, there will need to be hundreds of millions invested to build the vast new infrastructure to enable this construction to commence, creating jobs and opportunities in South Australia and around the country over the next twelve months.
All up the Government has announced that 12 Offshore Patrol Vessels, 9 Future Frigates, 12 submarines and up to 21 Pacific Patrol Boats will be built in South Australia & Western Australia.
These projects alone will create over 3,500 direct jobs and many thousands of indirect jobs benefiting the entire country.
As Minister for Defence Industry I am focussed on leveraging our defence dollars to build Australian defence industry capability and create jobs and opportunities for Australians.