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WA sniffing for Collins submarine maintenance work now done in SA

HUNDREDS of defence support jobs could shift to Perth if Western Australia succeeds in snaring more work looking after the Collins Class submarines.

Turnbull addresses submarine security breach

HUNDREDS of defence support jobs could shift to Perth if Western Australia succeeds in snaring more work looking after the Collins Class submarines.

The ageing six-boat fleet is maintained by both the ASC shipyard at Osborne and the ASC West shipyard in WA.

ASC West used to do only light maintenance but has recently begun doing more complex work, while the full-cycle dockings are done in SA.

However, The Advertiser has been told there are moves afoot to shift more work to WA as shipbuilding and submarine building ramps up in SA.

At present up to 800 people work on the program at Osborne.

While the State Government believes it would be very difficult to shift the bulk of that work across the Nullarbor, others think that with some additional infrastructure it would be easily achieved.

State Defence Industries Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith, who has been calling for more details of the national shipbuilding plan, said the location of the sustainment was “another question that needs an answer”.

“There has been speculation that once the Future Submarines are being built that the sustainment for Collins might be transitioned to Perth,” he said.

“It would be very hard to transition. You would need quite a bit of infrastructure and a high level of skill to do that. To do that in Perth is almost unimaginable at the moment without significant change.”

The six Collins Class submarines will require maintenance work for many years.
The six Collins Class submarines will require maintenance work for many years.

However, WA Senator Linda Reynolds — a passionate advocate for more ship and boat work for WA — said healthy competition between the states was a good thing and the facilities at ASC West could easily be expanded for complex maintenance work.

“I would love to see WA and SA work together,” she said.

“Having a bit of healthy rivalry between the states means they both have to reform better. There is more work than one state could ever do. It would free up ASC in Adelaide.”

She said there was plenty of work for everyone and the Federal Government’s plan was “the right one for the nation”.

If people now working on the maintenance of the Collins submarines shift over to work on the Future Submarines project and more, or all, of the Collins work goes to WA, it would mean hundreds fewer jobs in SA than predicted.

The Advertiser asked federal Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne whether there were plans or investigations under way to move work to WA.

“There has been no change to the Government’s plans,” a spokesman said.

“Maintenance of the Collins Class submarines is currently shared between ASC facilities in Henderson and Osborne.

“These arrangements are scheduled to continue.”

Federal Defence Minister Marise Payne said this week the Government was working on a plan to maximise Australian involvement in the “national endeavour” of building the Future Submarines.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told The Advertiser in April, immediately after announcing 12 future submarines would be built in Adelaide, that the present system of Collins submarine sustainment would continue.

“Sustainment at the moment is done both between Henderson (in Perth) and Osborne (Adelaide) and that would continue,” he said.

Mr Turnbull referred to HMAS Collins undergoing a refit when he visited ASC’s Osborne shipyard, which he said would play a major role in sustaining the new submarines.

“It (sustainment) will be shared between the two but the heavier work, if you like, was obviously always going to be done here at Osborne, as it is now,” he said.

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/wa-sniffing-for-collins-submarine-maintenance-work-now-done-in-sa/news-story/01e3092b351d7e59fb031779bc8a592b