SENATOR THE HON PENNY WONG
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
DAVID FEENEY MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE CENTENARY OF ANZAC
SHADOW MINISTER FOR JUSTICE
MEMBER FOR BATMAN
OFFICAL LAUNCH CEREMONY FOR THE FIRST FUTURE DESTROYER, HOBART
Labor Senate Leader and Senator for South Australia, Penny Wong and Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence, David Feeney have attended the official launch of the first Australian made Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) at Techport in Adelaide today.
The first of the AWDs, which is to be commissioned as HMAS Hobart, will be launched today, with the remaining two currently under construction in Australia.
The three AWDs are the nation’s most complex and largest defence projects to date.
Today is a great day for the Australian Defence Force and the Australian shipbuilding industry.
It is a shame that the Abbott Government has used today’s launch of the first of the Hobart Class to again politicise our national security and denigrate Australia’s shipbuilding industry to justify breaking its own promise to build 12 new submarines in Adelaide.
The AWD project began under the Howard Government in 2005. The previous Labor Government made a concerted effort to fix schedule and management issues with the project.
Today’s launch of the first AWD should be celebrated by both sides of the political divide.
Instead, the Abbott Government continues to undermine the Australian shipbuilding industry
As an island nation, it is vital that we have a sovereign shipbuilding capability.
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| The first AWD Hobart being moved ready for launch. |
Labor is disappointed the Abbott Government is risking the jobs of ASC workers by breaking its promise to build 12 submarines in South Australia.
The Government should take this opportunity to keep their election promise and give the staff at ASC some certainty about their future.
The past 20 months have contained nothing of substance for our shipbuilding industry from the Abbott Government, which has instead sent our ships to be built overseas, and shamefully asserted that Australian shipyards lacked the capacity to build them in a smear campaign which has been debunked by experts and Australian shipyards.
Tony Abbott’s complete denigration of our shipbuilding workforce has been part of his plan to justify sending work on our Future Submarines to Japan.
The Government’s chaos and dishonesty on submarines and shipbuilding is hurting jobs, hurting the economy, and potentially putting our future security as a nation at risk.
Our shipbuilding industry and these workers deserve better than this. They deserve a rational shipbuilding plan to preserve this important strategic capability- as well as the jobs and investment that come with it.
Labor’s plan for our shipbuilding industry would have ensured two new supply ships were built in Australia, with the construction of Future Frigates and patrol boats also brought forward.
Labor continues to support the AWD program, and will work to ensure that it is delivered to the Royal Australian Navy as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The Abbott Government cannot continue to keep the Winter Review a secret, as this review is an important contribution to the national debate about both the AWD program and the future of shipbuilding in this country.