Peter Malinauskas: Why I’m so proud and excited to be a South Australian after the past week

Two major things happened this week that should make South Australians extremely proud and excited for the future, Premier Peter Malinauskas says.

This week has been one of the most significant in the history of our state.

We have secured the right to build the AUKUS nuclear submarines – the most complex machines ever made – more complex, more advanced, than the space shuttle.

A multi-billion dollar coup which will deliver thousands of high-quality jobs for generations.

Make no mistake, this is the most significant step forward for our economy since General Motors Holden started manufacturing cars here in the late 1940s.

But something else of historic significance happened this week.

On Thursday, we recorded the lowest unemployment in our state’s history – 3.8 per cent.

Not the lowest this year, or the lowest this decade, or even this century – but the lowest since records began back in the 1970s.

The confluence of these two historic events is worthy of further consideration.

Let’s be honest, among some on the eastern seaboard, SA’s defence projects have been viewed as taxpayer-funded welfare for a state in need of a handout.

Locally, these projects have long been viewed as the jobs elixir for a state historically lumbered with unacceptably high unemployment.

A decade ago, when the future submarines project was first being considered, General Motors had just declared it was shutting down the Holden plant at Elizabeth.

SA was facing double-digit unemployment.

Fast forward 10 years, and the Commonwealth has chosen to build these submarines here in Adelaide in the very same week we recorded our lowest ever unemployment rate.

Nobody is talking about handouts anymore.

We won this because we are clearly the best place in the country to build these incredibly complex machines, which our nation needs for its security in an uncertain geopolitical environment.

This is no longer a case of what the country can do for SA, but rather what SA can deliver for our nation’s security.

This is no longer a question of where are the jobs? Rather, it is a question of where are the skilled workers to fill all these jobs?

Since Tuesday’s historic announcement, my government hasn’t wasted a minute doing what we can to ensure SA can seize this opportunity. On Wednesday, I signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Commonwealth which establishes a genuine partnership between the Australian and SA governments.

Key to this agreement is the construction, establishment and operation of a Skills and Training Academy campus in SA, to be co-designed by the Commonwealth and the state, and developed in consultation with industry and unions.

Premier Peter Malinauskas talking to workers at the Barrow-in-Furness nuclear submarine shipyard operated by BAE Systems in the UK. Picture: Supplied

There will also be an additional 800 federally funded places in our universities for STEM disciplines in professional engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical), computer science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, psychology and management.

And, we will invest in research capability and infrastructure in these priority disciplines to generate a workforce close to the Submarine Construction Yard at Osborne.

I am determined to do everything we can to ensure South Australians have the skills they need to secure the jobs on offer.

After signing this agreement with the Commonwealth, I flew to the United Kingdom. Within hours of landing I arrived at the BAE Systems submarine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, where the British build their nuclear-powered submarines, the Astute class.

The design of our new AUKUS submarine will be evolved from the existing British Astute class.

The scale of this operation in Barrow is truly a sight to behold, and an exciting preview of what we can look forward to.

But this trip is about more than just seeing how they build subs, it is about seeing how they train their workers.

I was particularly interested in seeing the Barrow Submarine Skills Academy, where 4000 workers are trained each month. The submarine shipyard employs 1500 graduates, apprentices or degree apprentices at any one time.

I was struck to meet so many young people who had decided with confidence to dedicate their careers to submarine building, knowing it will provide secure, well paid and purposeful work for life.

For Australia, the AUKUS project is going to be an intergenerational endeavour. But we don’t have any time to waste.

Later this year, works will begin on the submarine construction yard at Osborne. By the end of this decade, works will have started on the first SSN-AUKUS at Osborne.

Importantly, we face this once-in-a-generation opportunity not from a position of weakness, but from a position of strength.

This has been a big week for SA and we should all be proud. But more than that, we should be excited by the opportunities for the future.

Originally published as Peter Malinauskas: Why I’m so proud and excited to be a South Australian after the past week