❓ The Premier outlines the benefits of the defence cooperation agreement for Henderson, including the creation of a major naval maintenance hub and thousands of jobs, contributing to economic diversification.
AnsweredQoN 674Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEFENCE INDUSTRY — HENDERSON DEFENCE PRECINCT
674. Mr P.C. TINLEY to the Premier:
Madam Speaker, before I ask my
question, I, too, add my personal congratulations on your recent announcement.
I also acknowledge the student executive of Bletchley Park Primary School in
the gallery today on behalf of the member for Southern River.
I refer to the defence cooperation
agreement signed by the Albanese and Cook governments today, recognising Western
Australia's integral role in expanding the nation's defence
capabilities.
(1) Can the Premier outline to the
house what this partnership entails for Henderson?
(2) Can the
Premier inform the house how the partnership will advance the Cook Labor
government's strategy to diversify our economy?
674. Mr P.C. TINLEY to the Premier:
Madam Speaker, before I ask my
question, I, too, add my personal congratulations on your recent announcement.
I also acknowledge the student executive of Bletchley Park Primary School in
the gallery today on behalf of the member for Southern River.
I refer to the defence cooperation
agreement signed by the Albanese and Cook governments today, recognising Western
Australia's integral role in expanding the nation's defence
capabilities.
(1) Can the Premier outline to the
house what this partnership entails for Henderson?
(2) Can the
Premier inform the house how the partnership will advance the Cook Labor
government's strategy to diversify our economy?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the question. It is an
important one because, quite frankly, it is hard to put into perspective the
scale of the announcement in Henderson this morning. I will put it as simply as possible: Western Australia will be home to the
biggest naval maintenance hub in the Southern Hemisphere . This represents the biggest defence investment in our state's history.
It represents around 10 000 jobs, and it marks a major leap forward in the
government's efforts to diversify the economy.
It
was an honour to join Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and the WA Minister
for Defence Industry , Paul Papalia, to sign the comprehensive
cooperative agreement for this exciting next chapter for Western Australia's
economy. What does it mean for Henderson? This project will transform our
existing marine facilities in Henderson into a world-class shipbuilding and
sustainment hub. It will provide H enderson
with major dry-docking capabilities, contingency docking capabilities and
greater manufacturing capabilities for military vessels. This will
elevate Western Australia's defence industry, placing us alongside
world-renowned hubs like San Diego.
Over at HMAS Stirling , there
is even more investment—$8 billion has already been committed to expand HMAS Stirling to sustain the submarine
base there. All up, we are talking of around 10 000 jobs— 10 000
well-paid, highly skilled jobs. We are talking about an industry that can help
us futureproof our economy. This will help our economy ride out the bumps of
the price cycle of our resources sector. I am sure that future generations will
look back at this in the same way that we look back at the major economic impact
of the gold rush, the agricultural expansion, the export of iron ore and the
discovery of gas fields. This investment in our defence industry is worth
literally tens of billions of dollars over the next year and will see the
ongoing sustainment of our defence vessel construction industry.
Today's announcement is the
catalyst that we need to propel our local industry to a global scale. A
critical mass of defence spending here in Western Australia will have a ripple
effect on other industries. The exciting aspect of this is not just the
construction of major vessels through the assembly of the hulls; it is the
componentry, instrumentation and support that will go on right around this
whole industry—cont ractors,
engineers, tourism operators, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and cyber
experts. A huge support industry will proliferate that will see indirect
jobs going to the multiples of factors. That is in addition to the influx of
uniformed personnel. It will permanently change the composition of our economy,
diversifying it for the good of future generations.
Eight years ago, Western Australia
did not have a Minister for Defence Industry, but since gaining the portfolio
seven and a half years ago, Minister Papalia has fought hard for this. I take
the opportunity to acknowledge his efforts over many years to bring us to this
particular point and milestone. It is a testament to his tenacity and nagging and to the fact that those in the
commonwealth just do not want to hear from him anymore! They are giving
him a multibillion industry to make sure that he goes away—but he will
not!
My government is committed to the
diversification and development of our economy. We have identified the defence
industry as one of the major pillars of the Diversify WA strategy and today we
saw a major leap forward for Western Australia that will double-down on the
Diversify WA strategy. Please be under no illusions, members: this represents
tens of thousands of jobs. This will transform the way our economy operates and
will bring about a whole range of other related industries and business
opportunities. This is an exciting day for Western Australia and, as the Deputy
Prime Minister said, it is the biggest single investment in Western Australia
since Federation.
important one because, quite frankly, it is hard to put into perspective the
scale of the announcement in Henderson this morning. I will put it as simply as possible: Western Australia will be home to the
biggest naval maintenance hub in the Southern Hemisphere . This represents the biggest defence investment in our state's history.
It represents around 10 000 jobs, and it marks a major leap forward in the
government's efforts to diversify the economy.
It
was an honour to join Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and the WA Minister
for Defence Industry , Paul Papalia, to sign the comprehensive
cooperative agreement for this exciting next chapter for Western Australia's
economy. What does it mean for Henderson? This project will transform our
existing marine facilities in Henderson into a world-class shipbuilding and
sustainment hub. It will provide H enderson
with major dry-docking capabilities, contingency docking capabilities and
greater manufacturing capabilities for military vessels. This will
elevate Western Australia's defence industry, placing us alongside
world-renowned hubs like San Diego.
Over at HMAS Stirling , there
is even more investment—$8 billion has already been committed to expand HMAS Stirling to sustain the submarine
base there. All up, we are talking of around 10 000 jobs— 10 000
well-paid, highly skilled jobs. We are talking about an industry that can help
us futureproof our economy. This will help our economy ride out the bumps of
the price cycle of our resources sector. I am sure that future generations will
look back at this in the same way that we look back at the major economic impact
of the gold rush, the agricultural expansion, the export of iron ore and the
discovery of gas fields. This investment in our defence industry is worth
literally tens of billions of dollars over the next year and will see the
ongoing sustainment of our defence vessel construction industry.
Today's announcement is the
catalyst that we need to propel our local industry to a global scale. A
critical mass of defence spending here in Western Australia will have a ripple
effect on other industries. The exciting aspect of this is not just the
construction of major vessels through the assembly of the hulls; it is the
componentry, instrumentation and support that will go on right around this
whole industry—cont ractors,
engineers, tourism operators, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and cyber
experts. A huge support industry will proliferate that will see indirect
jobs going to the multiples of factors. That is in addition to the influx of
uniformed personnel. It will permanently change the composition of our economy,
diversifying it for the good of future generations.
Eight years ago, Western Australia
did not have a Minister for Defence Industry, but since gaining the portfolio
seven and a half years ago, Minister Papalia has fought hard for this. I take
the opportunity to acknowledge his efforts over many years to bring us to this
particular point and milestone. It is a testament to his tenacity and nagging and to the fact that those in the
commonwealth just do not want to hear from him anymore! They are giving
him a multibillion industry to make sure that he goes away—but he will
not!
My government is committed to the
diversification and development of our economy. We have identified the defence
industry as one of the major pillars of the Diversify WA strategy and today we
saw a major leap forward for Western Australia that will double-down on the
Diversify WA strategy. Please be under no illusions, members: this represents
tens of thousands of jobs. This will transform the way our economy operates and
will bring about a whole range of other related industries and business
opportunities. This is an exciting day for Western Australia and, as the Deputy
Prime Minister said, it is the biggest single investment in Western Australia
since Federation.
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