Press Conference at HD Plasma and Laser

26 Apr 2017 Transcipt

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Press Conference at HD Plasma and Laser
26 April 2017

SUBJECTS: Cutting of the first steel for the continuous naval shipbuilding program.



CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, thank you. It’s terrific to be here at HD Plasma and Laser for the really historic day of cutting of steel on the first of the Government’s vessels, its 54-vessel continuous naval shipbuilding program, the first of its kind in Australia’s history. We shouldn’t underestimate the dramatic impact of having a continuous naval ship-build, a national endeavour of naval shipbuilding, will have on the economy. Here in Perth, and right across Australia. This is the first of the Pacific Patrol Vessels, which I pressed the button on today. There are 21 of those, 12 Offshore Patrol Vessels, nine Future Frigates, 12 submarines, and then there’ll be a new generation in decades to come of new ships that future governments and future ministers will commit to. This is a tremendous opportunity for Western Australia, and that’s one of the reasons I’m here, is to mark all of these milestones, because I think we underestimate what $90 billion of naval shipbuilding will do to expand the amount of factories, expanding jobs and investment in our economy.

It’s great to be here with Sean L’Estrange, the Shadow Minister for Defence Issues here in Western Australia. He has, in a very positive and constructive way, engaged with me from the earliest moment of his appointment to talk about how Perth and Western Australia might benefit from this national endeavour of naval shipbuilding, and I’m very pleased to be able to brief him on what we’re doing in Western Australia and how we might be able to work together into the future.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question].

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, Western Australia is the second shipbuilding centre in Australia. So the difficult decision the Government made a few years ago was to have two shipbuilding centres in this country. One in Adelaide, in Osborne, for the combative vessels, and one here at Henderson for the non-combative vessels. That meant that we had to say to the people of Williamstown in Melbourne and in Newcastle that we wouldn’t be spreading our naval shipbuilding across four different industrial centres, and that means that Western Australia and Henderson will be a very significant part of naval shipbuilding for decades into the future, and we’re already seeing the benefits.

Naval shipbuilding is showing up in the national accounts in the last quarter of last year as one of the drivers of the economy. Here we are cutting steel at HD Plasma and Laser. In the early part of this year, we’ve already opened a new factory at Austal, the Pacific Patrol Vessels. I’ve just come from Civmec and Forgacs down the road, where they are building a 20-storey, 29,000-square metre ship, because they are having a big vote of confidence in naval shipbuilding and its future in Australia, but obviously particularly here in Henderson, because they’re building the shed here. That’s an $80 million commitment that they’re making to naval shipbuilding here in Henderson. So there’s no doubt Perth is going to be a major beneficiary, and it will become one of the pillars of the economy of Western Australia, as it will across the whole country.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question].

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, there can’t be any guarantees, because they’re involved in a tender process, a competitive tender process. Right now, they are tendering for the Offshore Patrol Vessels contract with three designers – Fassmer, Luerssen, and Damen – and of course we’re here at HD Plasma and Laser who are subcontracting to Austal, and Austal is also in that tender. So there’s a three- three-people tender, three groups tendering. Austal are in that tender, and Civmec are in that tender as well. So I can’t really comment on that process, closing 30 March this year. Somebody will win it, and whoever wins it will be a significant beneficiary. But of course, that isn’t the end of the story. It’s not a zero-sum game. There’s $90 billion of shipbuilding to be done, which lifts all the boats, pardon the pun, and that means that everyone’s going to be a winner.

QUESTION: When will that OPV winner be announced?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, we’re trying to make our decisions as soon as possible. One of the things I’ve done since I’ve been the Minister for Defence Industry is not let the grass grow under my feet in terms of decision-making. We had anticipated a decision on the OPVs would be made in the third quarter of this year. We’ll make it as soon as we are finished the process, and if that’s earlier – which I hope it will be – then we’ll be able to make that decision earlier. Because we need to start cutting steel on that project in 2018; we need to give certainty whoever wins the tender that they should start investing in infrastructure down at Osborne South, for shipbuilding. So we’ll make it as soon as we possibly can. But it certainly won’t be later than the third quarter of this year.

QUESTION: Mr Pyne, will the Prime Minister’s visit to meet Donald Trump be disruptive to final Budget preparations?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Not at all. The Prime Minister’s going to meet President Trump in the early part of May, in the first week of May, as part of the 75thanniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. It’s a very exciting development from our point of view, and I’m sure President Trump’s point of view. Most of the work around the Budget has been well and truly put to bed by the first week of May, and therefore that won’t disrupt Budget preparations.

QUESTION: He’s publicly flagging an expectation of additional military requirements in the Middle East. When do you think that request may come?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, I haven’t been briefed on the United States requesting additional military involvement in the Middle East up until now, up until your question. My understanding has been that the United States is very happy with the contribution that we are making in the Middle East. It’s the second-largest contribution of any allied country after the United States, and I’m not aware of a request to change our mix, or in fact to upgrade that involvement.

QUESTION: What can Australia do in a defence sense in relation to North Korea, helping the US there?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, obviously we are part of a global alliance with a number of different countries called the Five Eyes. That is Canada, the UK, United States, New Zealand, and Australia. We have the world’s best capability at listening, watching, and analysing activity around the world. That would be a significant part of the information that’s being provided to the United States. We have, of course, Pine Gap in the centre of Australia, which is one of the world’s most significant bases in terms of being able to understand what’s happening around the world. That would be a significant contribution. We support the United States strongly in terms of the United Nations and the attempt to impose further sanctions on the North Korean regime, and simply being a good ally and supporting the United States in its actions is useful and valuable to the US.

I’ve just returned from Washington where I met with Secretary Mattis, Secretary of Defense. The United States couldn’t be happier with its alliance with Australia, and obviously the North Korean Peninsula situation is a very, very serious one. But it’s critical for Australia and the United States that the North Koreans not develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capability that can reach Australia or continental US, and certainly not one that can carry nuclear warheads. So we strongly support the US in pressuring the North Korean regime, but also the Chinese Government to take action because the Chinese Government has the most influence over North Korea than any other country in the world.

QUESTION: Were you surprised to see Cory Bernardi’s team tie-up with Family First?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well I am surprised, because this is Cory Bernardi’s third party in three months. Of course he was in the Liberal Party, then he had his own party, and now he’s got a third party which suggests to me that his departure from the Liberal Party isn’t going as well as he’d hoped.

I am surprised at Family First would join up with the Bernardi Party, because what it’s meant of course is that the Family First had one senator, and Senator Bernardi was one senator, and they’ve joined together and they’ve ended up with one senator because the Family First Senator Gichuhi has decided not to join this new party. So it seems to have got off to a very poor start, and have gone from two senators to one. And I don’t know what their next move will be, but I wish them well. But I’m not particularly obviously supportive of other parties in the Liberal firmament.

QUESTION: To what extent might it eat into the Liberal vote in South Australia?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: I don’t think it will eat into the Liberal Party vote at all in South Australia. Family First recorded their lowest vote federally ever in the last federal election, a 2.9 per cent. There was a poll recently about crossbenchers and how people either approve of them or disapprove of them. Senator Bernardi I think was at minus 35 per cent approved. So I don’t think their party will eat into our vote at all, especially when people recognise that if you want a good government, you have to vote Liberal, especially in South Australia. Voting for minor parties threatens Labor staying in office or worse than that, chaos in a time when we want jobs and investment in our state of South Australia. We don’t need any more chaos brought about by minor parties with large egos.

QUESTION: George Christensen has said that Yassmin Abdel-Magied should be sacked and should self-deport over her comments yesterday. What do you make of those comments?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, I don’t comment on my colleagues’ views. I’m not a commentator. I’m an advocate for the Government’s policies, and I’m here today because there’s a great news story for South Australia, Western Australia, and the rest of the country in terms of the beginning of our naval shipbuilding project. And Mr Christensen can make his own comments; I’m not going to be a commentator on it.

QUESTION: As Defence Industries Minister, what do you think about her comments being made on Anzac Day?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well I thought they were inappropriate. Obviously she realised that pretty quickly and took them down, which I think was the right thing to do. And what struck me obviously was her lack of understanding of the history of war in Australia, because in fact it was Australians who liberated Jerusalem and Palestine and Damascus and Syria in the First World War from the Ottoman Empire. And of course, if perhaps she’d known that, she might not have made those unwise comments.