Premier Jay Weatherill: We will push for jobs partnership with winning submarine builder

THE submarines deal is an opportunity to take a significant step forward with the chosen nation, writes Jay Weatherill, and I will be seeking a partnership that does more than just build 12 submarines.

Collins Class Submarine, HMAS Sheean at sea in the Western Australia Exercise Area.

EIGHTEEN months ago, we were within days of hearing that the future submarines promised for Adelaide were to be built overseas.

Now, following a sustained campaign, supported by all South Australians, this position has been reversed.

Just as with the River Murray, we stood up and fought for our economic future.

Now we appear to be within days of securing the biggest tendered contract in the history of this nation.

To its credit, rather than sporadically awarding a shipbuilding project or two — as has been done in the past — the Federal Government appears set to deliver the final piece in the puzzle with this contract.

This will cement an ongoing hi-tech future shipbuilding industry for Australia based in Adelaide.

Our state stands ready to work in partnership with either France, Germany or Japan in delivering this important contract on behalf of our nation.

We have laid the groundwork by meeting regularly with delegations from each of these countries, explaining the vast capability of our workforce and shipyards at Port Adelaide.

It is my view that, whichever country is chosen, we will have a unique opportunity to forge a relationship with our new shipbuilding partner that goes beyond defence contracts alone.

It is an opportunity to take a significant step forward with our diplomatic and trade relations with the chosen nation — similar to the strong ties we have through our 30-year friendship with China’s Shandong province.

In the weeks following the announcement of the successful bidder, I will be visiting the headquarters of our new shipbuilding partner.

My aim will be to ensure that we maximise the jobs for the South Australian workforce and the South Australian-based industry suppliers.

I will be seeking a partnership that does more than just build 12 submarines.

I will be seeking a partnership that opens doors for broader business and cultural exchange.

I will then ask Defence Industries Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith to lead an industry delegation to develop and strengthen relationships with our local defence industry.

We will also embark on a significant trade delegation in the coming months, and I will be asking Opposition Leader Steven Marshall to accompany the Government and business leaders on that mission.

This bipartisan delegation will include industry, unions and representatives from our higher education sector.

While the first of the future submarines won’t be built for a number of years, our international partners will begin investing in Adelaide immediately.

Jobs will be created immediately.

We will attract other companies that realise this is not a short-term project but an industry based in Adelaide for decades to come.

There is no one thing that will secure South Australia’s economic future.

But one thing is for certain: manufacturing must be part of a diverse economy.

If we look around the world, the economies that have weathered economic turbulence have transitioned from traditional to hi-tech manufacturing.

This is important for South Australia because of our proud history of manufacturing and the skills and capabilities that still exist here.

Much of what South Australia has been trying to achieve in recent years has been the transformation of our economy to a hi-tech manufacturing economy.

This decision stands to be the most significant achievement in that quest and demonstrates that the transformation is underway.