Axed ex-defence minister David Johnston backpaddles over canoe sledge — now concedes Adelaide is best place to build subs

THE axed defence minister who infamously said SA could not be trusted to build a canoe has backflipped on that sledge. Here’s what he says now.

• Calls to sack David Johnston over ASC canoe gaffe
• Much mocked evaluation process ‘gave best subs deal’
• Premier off to France to chase subs jobs
• Andrew Bolt: Submarines deal is not a silver bullet for SA

THE former defence minister who infamously said South Australia could not be trusted to build a canoe has backflipped on that sledge – and now says it’s a great place to construct the nation’s new submarine fleet.

“This is a very good plan and I think most people who are interested in sovereign, deterrent capability will be very pleased,” West Australian Senator David Johnston conceded on Wednesday in the wake of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement that 12 French-designed submarines would be built in SA.

Former defence minister Senator David Johnston.

In 2014, however, he declared as defence minister that he would not trust Adelaide shipbuilders ASC “to build a canoe” after revelations of cost and timeline blowouts during construction of the three Air Warfare Destroyers.

He also told The Advertiser on Wednesday that a continuous build of ships and submarines would allow skills to be built up and maintained.

Thousands of jobs will be created through the submarine partnership with French shipbuilder DCNS, many of them at ASC’s Osborne shipyard.

Premier Jay Weatherill left on a whirlwind trip to Paris and the Cherbourg shipyards to look at how to maximise those jobs and skills.

DCNS Barracuda being constructed in Cherbourg

He is considering establishing a permanent state trade office in France in a bid to capitalise on the $50 billion submarine contract and create new jobs in food, wine and other industries.

He told The Advertiser media exposure generated by the subs project could put Adelaide on the map in a major European market – and a local office could further increase SA’s visibility. ASC has already shed hundreds of jobs but the Federal Government’s promise to start building 12 offshore patrol vessels there, and all nine Future Frigates and 12 Future Submarines, has injected new hope into the industry.

Senator Johnston – who lost the ministry after his derogatory comments about ASC – said yesterday big projects were plagued by the “green labour” problem of the time and expense taken to train people.

The AWD project rapidly improved its productivity levels but, with only three warships commissioned, hit del-ays and a cost blowout of more than $1 billion.

“(Shipbuilding) is very expensive at the beginning and ultimately if you keep going you capitalise on the investment over time . . . and the end product is very competitive,” Senator Johnston said.

“The workers that will be involved will come from all over Australia and they will be well trained and highly skilled, as any workers in a 40- to 50-year industry would be.”

South Australian Labor Senator Penny Wong said she was happy to hear that Senator Johnston had “finally recognised the workers at ASC are the finest in the world”.

“A belated turnaround from a man who finds himself out of office, up a creek and still without a paddle,” she said.

Australian Made Defence campaign spokesman Chris Burns said he had some sympathy for Senator Johnston.

“I think what he said about the canoe was said in frustration under a different leadership regime,” he said. “I’m grateful for him to turn around and say we can build submarines and ships.”

In France, Mr Weatherill intends to meet senior DCNS executives.

He said an overhaul of the Whyalla steelworks – which is in administration and struggling to survive – to produce for the navy’s needs would be high on the agenda. “It’s not necessarily just the existing capacity of the steelworks, it’s the capacity of the steelworks in the future,” he said.

SA currently has UK and European Agent-General Bill Muirhead in London attempting to drum up new trade. Mr Weatherill said an office focused on France was under consideration, adding: “We’ll have a discussion about what further steps we take to increase our visibility in France. We now have a basis for us to reach out to that market and create awareness. Mr Weatherill said partnerships with French companies using advanced technol-ogies in food, wine, agriculture and in information technology could help supercharge those sectors in SA.

He also left the door open to state money being used at Port Adelaide’s Techport shipyards to support the OPV and frigate builds, starting in 2018 and 2020 respectively.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said he would consider joining a larger State Government trade mission being planned but this week’s visit was a “vanity trip”.

“Less than 24 hours after the Premier declared that we needed to work in a bipartisan way to squeeze every single last job out of this wonderful announcement by the Coalition, the Premier’s decided to head off on a vanity trip,” Mr Marshall said.