Premier Peter Malinauskas heading to the UK: ‘Biggest opportunity in our state’s history’

Premier Peter Malinauskas says he’s flying to the home of UK nuclear submarine construction tomorrow to “strike while the iron is hot”.

• What subs deal means for SA

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas will make a hastily arranged trip to the home of UK nuclear submarine construction, where the design for Adelaide-based construction will be produced.

Mr Malinauskas will leave on Wednesday afternoon for the UK, where he will visit the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, 350km northwest of London, and meet defence officials in the UK capital.

More than 10,000 people are employed at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, delivering the Astute and Dreadnought submarine projects for the UK’s Royal Navy.

Revealing the trip at an Adelaide press conference, Mr Malinauskas said Barrow-in-Furness was a place that South Australians would “hear a lot about over the months and years ahead”.

“I want to see first-hand exactly what occurs on the ground there, particularly around its training and skills efforts about developing the workforce they require to build nuclear submarines over there,” he said.

“We know that in both Barrow but also, of course in the two nuclear submarine construction yards in the US, there are some critical skills academies that are orientated towards developing that workforce of the future.

“We want to be on the ground, seeing that first-hand as quickly as possible – strike while the iron is hot. I’ll be travelling tomorrow.”

Mr Malinauskas hailed the nuclear submarine acquisition and construction announcement as “a big day for our state” and its 1.8m people.

“This is genuinely about a step change in our economy and its capacity to be able to deliver for people,” he said.

Construction of the Ambush submarine at the BAE Systems in Barrow-in Furness. Picture: Getty Images

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Premier Peter Malinauskas at a press conference in Adelaide on Tuesday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Premier Peter Malinauskas said South Australia is ready to step up. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

“It’s no longer though just a question of the Commonwealth helping out South Australia. This is about South Australia stepping up to the plate and meeting our national security needs in a way that will assure prosperity but also, most critically, peace – hopefully for many decades to come.”

Asked by The Advertiser about the political risk of any of the three AUKUS nations scuttling Adelaide-based nuclear submarine construction, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong emphasised bipartisan support across the three nations.

“What I would say is that this is a partnership that enjoys political support from across the political spectrum in all three nations. That is a good thing,” she said.

“I would say that all of us recognise the multi-decade nature of this investment and the benefits to all our countries. So I think that is the most effective answer to your question.”

Senator Wong said Australia had an obligation to deal with spent fuel from the submarines’ nuclear reactors but said a decision was many decades away.

She said Defence Minister Richard Marles had asked his department to study defence property options and report back about options.

Senator Wong said the AUKUS submarine program was the biggest investment in Australia’s national power in history.

“It’s also the biggest investment in South Australia in the nation’s history. And this will transform not only our defence capability, where we will become one of seven countries to have this capability, but it will transform our state,” Senator Wong said.

“It will transform our state in the same way that the state was transformed by the decision by previous governments, decades past, to invest in the auto industry. This will transform our state for decades – and that is a good thing.

“We will see investment in the near term, over the forward estimates, but we will see investment for decades to come. The submarine construction yard created for the build of our next-generation nuclear powered submarines will be three times larger than the yard forecast for the (French-designed) Attack program and that work will begin right away.”

BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn said construction was expected to begin this decade on the SSN-AUKUS boat.

“We’re extremely proud to be selected as a major partner in this historic endeavour which will ultimately enable Australia to acquire its own sovereign nuclear-powered submarine fleet,” he said.

“As a key player in the Australian maritime enterprise, we also look forward to working with the Australian government to explore how we could potentially provide additional support to this important tri-national program through our business in Australia.”

Asked if South Australians should be cynical about AUKUS submarine construction in Adelaide because the French design had been scrapped, Mr Malinauskas said this was a “good morning for South Australians” and “worth being excited about”.

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