Christopher Pyne: Shipbuilding announcement will steer South Australia out of valley of death
IN a day of great news for South Australia, the Turnbull Government has announced it will deliver the Offshore Patrol Vessels and the Future Frigates to Adelaide, securing the jobs of the workers of Osborne for years to come.
Opinion
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IN a day of great news for South Australia, the Turnbull Government has announced it will deliver the Offshore Patrol Vessels and the Future Frigates to Adelaide, securing the jobs of the workers of Osborne for years to come.
The Turnbull Government is delivering tens of billions of dollars in defence spending to South Australia and will deliver much-needed jobs and economic growth.
The Federal Government has committed to building the Offshore Patrol Vessels in Adelaide from 2018 following the completion of the Air Warfare Destroyers, directly creating 400 jobs. The ship build will then move to Perth, but only once the $35 billion Future Frigates fleet commences construction in 2020. The Future Frigates will directly create over 2000 jobs.
The Labor Party’s six year legacy of inaction over shipbuilding contracts was hurtling the workers at Osborne into what was colloquially known as the ‘‘valley of death” where skilled workers would have been lost as contracts ceased. This announcement means that the shipyards at Osborne will have the necessary security to keep its workforce intact, avoiding job losses and the loss of critically skilled workers.
Through the Defence Industry Policy Statement and the recently announced Adelaide-based Centre for Defence Industry Capability, strong links are being created between industry and defence, driving jobs across the country, reaffirming South Australia as the centre of the defence industry for our nation, as it becomes a hub of innovation and economic growth.
The Turnbull Government has delivered this investment to SA and it will have a much wider impact than securing the jobs of the workers at Osborne, with spin-off investment for suppliers and the broader SA economy.
The coming federal election for South Australia will be about who can be trusted to deliver jobs for future generations and provide a bright future for our state.
The last thing our state needs is a Labor government in Canberra controlled by the unions, or confusing minor parties who don’t know what they stand for.
When it comes to casting your vote at the federal election, South Australians will have a clear choice. A choice between the Turnbull Government which has committed tens of billions in defence spending to our state, securing jobs for generations to come, or a Labor Opposition who scandalously made no decisions in its six years in power, bringing our defence industry to the brink.
Christopher Pyne is the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.
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