❓ Mr. Whitby asks the Premier how the new defence strategic plan will create jobs and make WA a world-leading defence manufacturing hub. The Premier outlines initiatives including expanding Defence West, funding a defence science centre, developing the Henderson master plan, and promoting WA's defence industries overseas, while criticising the previous government's inaction.
AnsweredQoN 828Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN
ECONOMY — DEFENCE SECTOR
828. Mr R.R. WHITBY to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to diversifying the Western Australian economy,
in particular growing our defence sector. Can the Premier outline to the house
how the defence strategic plan released today will create more jobs in the
defence sector and drive efforts in making WA a world-leading defence
manufacturing hub?
ECONOMY — DEFENCE SECTOR
828. Mr R.R. WHITBY to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's commitment to diversifying the Western Australian economy,
in particular growing our defence sector. Can the Premier outline to the house
how the defence strategic plan released today will create more jobs in the
defence sector and drive efforts in making WA a world-leading defence
manufacturing hub?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I was very pleased to be able to speak this morning at a major defence
conference held here in Perth with hundreds of delegates from around the state,
around Australia and from overseas showing the capacity and demonstrating the
interests of Western Australia in securing more defence work. This defence
conference was the initiative of the state government. We indicated whilst in
opposition that we would do it. We did it today and we attracted the Australian
Minister for Defence, the Chief of Navy, senior federal government ministers
and shadow ministers as well. I am very pleased to see that it was so successful.
One
of the things I did today was launch this—the defence strategic plan. Western
Australia now has a strategic plan for defence, with a range of initiatives
that the state government will progress immediately and over coming years. We
were the only state without a defence strategic plan. Every state and territory
bar Western Australia had a defence strategic plan. The ambition is that over
the course of the next 12 years, up until 2030, we want to ensure that Western Australia
is an internationally recognised advanced manufacturing hub, and in practical
terms ensure that more repairs and maintenance are done, particularly on
submarines, ships and the new fleet units that are coming into the Royal
Australian Navy. In the first instance we will expand the capacity and
expertise of Defence West. We will fund—we announced it today—a
defence science centre, in collaboration with Western Australia's
universities and the federal government's Department of Defence, which
will work with WA universities to get more research and development here. We
will develop the Henderson master plan to ensure that by the end of 2019 we
have a better capacity to grow Henderson to secure more work. We will also
promote Western Australia's defence industries overseas, so we may well
be able to sell some of our products—particularly ships—to the
Asian region, and have annual trade delegations into South-East Asia,
particularly with a defence theme. This builds on the fact that we appointed
the first Western Australian defence advocate, Rear Admiral Raydon
Gates, who works for Western Australia in Canberra. We launched the first WA
defence industry capability directory, we have the first Minister for Defence
Issues in Minister Papalia, and we created Defence West, which is within the
Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, to advocate for more
defence work in WA.
So the fact is that in 18
months we have done more to secure defence work in Western Australia than the
last government in eight and a half years, by a long way. What happened over
the course of that last eight and a half years of the Liberal–National
government was it set the mute while contracts were issued and work was done on
billions upon billions of dollars of defence contracts, particularly for submarines,
frigates and destroyers. While South Australia was out there hoovering up those
contracts, the Western Australian government sat and did absolutely nothing
over that period! The former government was absolutely silent while that was
occurring. We are out there taking action now. Whilst it is very unfortunate we
were not in office in those years, Western Australia is now on the map, we have
major action taking place and we are doing our best to secure more defence jobs
for our state.
I was very pleased to be able to speak this morning at a major defence
conference held here in Perth with hundreds of delegates from around the state,
around Australia and from overseas showing the capacity and demonstrating the
interests of Western Australia in securing more defence work. This defence
conference was the initiative of the state government. We indicated whilst in
opposition that we would do it. We did it today and we attracted the Australian
Minister for Defence, the Chief of Navy, senior federal government ministers
and shadow ministers as well. I am very pleased to see that it was so successful.
One
of the things I did today was launch this—the defence strategic plan. Western
Australia now has a strategic plan for defence, with a range of initiatives
that the state government will progress immediately and over coming years. We
were the only state without a defence strategic plan. Every state and territory
bar Western Australia had a defence strategic plan. The ambition is that over
the course of the next 12 years, up until 2030, we want to ensure that Western Australia
is an internationally recognised advanced manufacturing hub, and in practical
terms ensure that more repairs and maintenance are done, particularly on
submarines, ships and the new fleet units that are coming into the Royal
Australian Navy. In the first instance we will expand the capacity and
expertise of Defence West. We will fund—we announced it today—a
defence science centre, in collaboration with Western Australia's
universities and the federal government's Department of Defence, which
will work with WA universities to get more research and development here. We
will develop the Henderson master plan to ensure that by the end of 2019 we
have a better capacity to grow Henderson to secure more work. We will also
promote Western Australia's defence industries overseas, so we may well
be able to sell some of our products—particularly ships—to the
Asian region, and have annual trade delegations into South-East Asia,
particularly with a defence theme. This builds on the fact that we appointed
the first Western Australian defence advocate, Rear Admiral Raydon
Gates, who works for Western Australia in Canberra. We launched the first WA
defence industry capability directory, we have the first Minister for Defence
Issues in Minister Papalia, and we created Defence West, which is within the
Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, to advocate for more
defence work in WA.
So the fact is that in 18
months we have done more to secure defence work in Western Australia than the
last government in eight and a half years, by a long way. What happened over
the course of that last eight and a half years of the Liberal–National
government was it set the mute while contracts were issued and work was done on
billions upon billions of dollars of defence contracts, particularly for submarines,
frigates and destroyers. While South Australia was out there hoovering up those
contracts, the Western Australian government sat and did absolutely nothing
over that period! The former government was absolutely silent while that was
occurring. We are out there taking action now. Whilst it is very unfortunate we
were not in office in those years, Western Australia is now on the map, we have
major action taking place and we are doing our best to secure more defence jobs
for our state.
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