SENATOR THE HON STEPHEN CONROY
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
SENATOR FOR VICTORIA
SENATOR KIM CARR
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND INDUSTRY
SENATOR FOR VICTORIA
DAVID FEENEY MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BATMAN
MALCOLM TURNBULL SENDS DEFENCE CONTRACT OFFSHORE
Malcolm Turnbull’s hypocrisy has reached new heights today following confirmation his Government has selected Spain’s Navantia as the preferred tenderer for Navy’s two new Supply Ships.
While Australian shipyards are on life support, Mr Turnbull has decided to send work offshore.
Reports suggest this will create up to 3,000 new jobs in Spain.
Just this week, Mr Turnbull proudly proclaimed his commitment to spending every defence dollar possible in Australia:
“We want to make sure that as far as we can, every dollar possible is spent here in Australia.”MALCOLM TURNBULL – ADELAIDE – 8 MARCH 2016
This is just another example of Malcolm Turnbull saying one thing and doing the complete opposite.
In 2014, the Government justified sending the contract for these ships offshore on the basis that there was an urgent need to forestall a capability gap.
“We have a problem that we need to address urgently…these replenishment ships are urgently required.”DAVID JOHNSTON – CANBERRA – 6 JUNE 2014
They then sat on their hands for over 20 months and refused Labor’s repeated requests that the tender be re-opened to allow Australian companies to compete.
As a result of this Government’s actions, more than 1500 Australian shipyard workers have lost their jobs across Australia.
In 2013, Labor announced its plan to bring forward the acquisition of two new Supply Ships, with construction commencing in 2015-16.
Based on advice from Defence at the time, Labor was confident that both ships could have been built completely in Australia.
When it comes to Australian manufacturing jobs, Australian workers know you can’t trust a word of what Malcolm Turnbull has to say.