SA Premier Peter Malinauskas addresses shipbuilders at Osborne after the Commonwealth’s announcement. Photo: Peter Malinauskas Facebook.
This week’s announcement that a follow-on class of warships will be built at Osborne near Port Adelaide after the Navy’s Hunter class frigates has been welcomed by the SA Government and workers alike.
The Commonwealth’s Enhanced Lethality Surface Combatant Fleet response to the recommendations in last year’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR) and a follow-on independent naval surface ships review will see the Royal Australian Navy’s current Hobart class destroyers replaced in the 2040s by a new class of ships to be built at Osborne.
The announcement also included a commitment from the Commonwealth to fund the Hunter class frigate program – for which construction on the first ship is due to commence this year – for six vessels.
While this is short of the nine Hunter class ships originally planned, when combined with the planned construction of nuclear-powered submarines and ongoing sustainment and Life of Type Extension (LOTE) of the Collins class submarines, it adds surety of work through the 2020s right through to 2060 and beyond.
The Commonwealth has also confirmed the Osborne shipyard will be used to upgrade the three Hobart destroyers with the latest version of the US Navy’s Aegis combat system, a process which will be conducted over the next six years.
Under the new plans, the construction of the six Hunter class frigates at Osborne will sustain at least 2000 jobs and create at least 500 new jobs over the next decade.
These are in addition to the 4000 estimated jobs required to build the new Submarine Construction Yard at Osborne, and the more than 4000 direct jobs to build the nuclear-powered submarines themselves from the late 2030s.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the announcement was a great day for South Australia, with confirmation of a continuous shipbuilding program in Adelaide being locked in for decades.
“Hunter Class frigates will be continuously built in Adelaide through to 2043, and will be followed by the replacement for the Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers, which will also be built right here in Adelaide,” he said.
“This surface shipbuilding workforce is in addition to the more than 4000 workers who will be building nuclear-powered AUKUS submarines in the same vicinity.
“Our job now is to make sure we have the workforce ready to adopt these secure, highly skilled, well paid careers.”
Premier Malinauskas and Defence Minister Richard Marles meeting with shipbuilders and union leaders in Canberra this month. Photo: Peter Malinauskas Facebook.
In the lead up to the release of the Commonwealth’s plan, Mr Malinauskas had taken a delegation of union leaders and shipbuilders to Canberra to make representations to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and others on behalf of the state.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, and Minister for Defence and Space Industries Susan Close said the announcement delivered long-term certainty for South Australian workers and businesses.
“This means the State Government can continue to prepare the skilled workforce required for the mammoth task,” she said.
“In conjunction with the Commonwealth, the South Australian Government has already prepared a Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Report.
“We are already well down the track of beginning to build those opportunities, whether it be through innovations like the offer of degree apprenticeships or developing partnerships with employers like BAE to give graduates from our new Findon Technical College a direct pathway into a great job.”
