Radio interview, 6PR

SUBJECTS: Australia’s future general purpose frigates; Shipbuilding in WA; AUKUS; Australian Defence Force recruitment; War medals. 

OLY PETERSON, HOST: Richard Marles, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence joins us live on 6PR. Good afternoon. 

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Oly, how are you?

PETERSON: I'm well, thank you for your time, Deputy Prime Minister. Why was the Japan bid successful?

MARLES: Well, it's the better ship for Australia, is the answer to that question. It is a next generation stealthy ship; it has 32 vertical launch cells which gives us much greater firepower; highly capable sonar, highly capable radar, which enables it to do both air warfare and undersea warfare; longer range than the current Anzac class, so it has a 10,000 nautical mile range, our Anzacs have about 6,000; smaller crew, which actually is really important going forward as well and given and it's a larger ship. So, to put that in context, there's a crew of 90, our Anzacs have a crew about 170; the Mogami has a displacement of about 6,200 tonnes and the Anzacs is about 3,500. So, every way you look at it, it is just the best ship for the Royal Australian Navy and that's why we've made this decision. Importantly though, we are really confident about the way in which we can work with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan to see the transition of this build come to Perth as quickly as possible. So, you'll remember that we are having the first of these three being built in Japan, but from there we're transitioning the build so the remaining eight will be done in Perth at the Henderson Defence Precinct. And this was the bid which gave us a real sense of confidence about being able to achieve that aim.

PETERSON: So, those first three, which as you say there will be built in Japan, you're expecting to receive in a decade?

MARLES: Well, the first will be delivered in 2029 and put into service in 2030, and the third will come into service in 2024– sorry, 2034 I should say. And so that's a very fast acquisition or fast pathway into service into the Royal Australian Navy. And from there what we are looking at is establishing the build in Western Australia at the Henderson Defence Precinct. Now we need to get that defence precinct up and running, but we're confident that we will be able to do that. And from there the plan is to then have a drumbeat of producing one of these ships every two years from that shipyard.

PETERSON: So, it's a ten year lead time, if you like, for what you need to do in Henderson?

MARLES: Yes, that's fair.

PETERSON: And to that point, AUKUS submarines you're hoping to also construct in Henderson eventually. Is there enough space? Have you got the capability to do all of this and more?

MARLES: Well, just to clarify that, what will be at Henderson in terms of submarines is the contingency maintenance of the submarines and then in the longer term, what's described as the depot‑level maintenance of the submarines, but essentially the maintenance of submarines going forward. The new class of submarine that will be built for the Royal Australian Navy will be built in Adelaide, but there will be thousands of jobs associated with the maintenance function in relation to submarines at the Henderson Defence Precinct. In answer to your question, yeah, we are confident. I mean, it is a big thing that we're doing here. Ultimately, what we're creating at Henderson is a workplace of three or four thousand people on an ongoing sense who will be operating in this space. And so that's a very significant endeavour. It represents, though, you know, an absolutely critical asset for the nation. We've been working very closely with the Cook Labor Government in WA to deliver this and we are confident that will happen.

PETERSON: So, if you're a 10‑year‑old at the moment and you're thinking about your future, you might have a career in Defence or defence capability, or you might have a career in defence maintenance at some stage. So, the engineers, the scientists of the world, the builders, the welders – there's huge opportunities for a workforce of 3 to 4,000 in the not too distant future?

MARLES: Yeah, well, absolutely. And that's just at Henderson. I mean, our estimates as to what this means across the entirety of the Western Australian economy is about 10,000 jobs in this space, when you look at what will also be happening at HMAS Stirling. But the way in which you've characterised that just then is 100% right. And this is really, I think, one of the exciting opportunities for young people in Perth right now, that there is this job and sector there that won't be kind of boom and bust, it will be there on an ongoing basis. And we're talking about high‑tech jobs through all the skill levels, well paid. And this is, you know, really important diversification of the West Australian economy. In many ways it's the most significant diversification of the West Australian economy in decades. And I think it will indeed be a really exciting opportunity for young people in WA. 

PETERSON: Is there also going to be the need for more skilled migrants, Richard Marles, do you believe, to take up these positions? Because it is a fair task, isn't it, what you're trying to achieve here and what is still realistically a pretty short lead time?

MARLES: Well, I think that's a fair observation too. It is a short lead time. Look, this is a really important challenge for the country. The human dimension which you're alluding to is as significant a component of this as all the physical things that we will build in and around AUKUS and what we're doing in developing our Defence Force. There is a security component to this, I should say. And so it will matter that there are Australian citizens who are doing this work because it's happening in a national security space. But obviously it draws more broadly on the people of Western Australia. I mean, immigration has always played a very significant part in the growth of our nation. It's something that we seek to manage in an appropriate way and you've seen the policies that we've taken to the federal election in respect of all of that. But this will be a sector that, because of its national security implications it will be Australians who are working within it.

PETERSON: Yes, and Defence, I saw new figures out yesterday, grown by the more than 1,800 personnel from this time last year. Still, that's ahead of those numbers, you still need to grow the force by 69,000 by the early 2030s. So again, lots of jobs in all defence industries, whether you're serving in our Defence Force, or you're constructing the warships, or the maintenance of those submarines.

MARLES: That's true. And look, there were very encouraging numbers in relation to our recruitment and Matt Keogh, our Minister for Defence Personnel, has done a great job here. The 7,000 new enlistments into the Defence Force over the last financial year is actually the biggest enlistment that we've done in 15 years and that has seen a growth in the Defence Force in the way you've described. And that we Defence Force which is growing again is really good news because when we came to government, in fact, the Defence Force was shrinking. But it's also right, and it was implied in your question then as well, that there's a way to go here, because we do have ambitions over the course of the remainder of this decade and into the 2030s to grow the Defence Force significantly. And so, you know, we take a lot of heart from the figures of the last couple of days but we still need to do a lot more work so that we can ultimately grow the Defence Force in the way that we want to.

PETERSON: Yeah so options, obviously, on the table. Are you thinking about recruitment outside of Australia's borders, potentially for Defence Force personnel? Is that something still in discussion by Cabinet?

MARLES: No, we're definitely doing that and in some ways we've started that. So, what we announced is that we would be recruiting from New Zealand, in terms of New Zealand citizens who are in Australia and other Five Eyes countries. We’ve got about just over 500 applications from people in that category to join the Defence Force. We've actually seen the first few Kiwis join the Defence Force and there are a number who are in the pipeline immediately about to join. So, this is an important area. And we've also talked about the need to have an eye to the Pacific here as well. And I think that is part of the pathway to growing our Defence Force. But we also need to get our processes right. One of the challenges that we have found is how long it takes between someone displaying an interest in the Defence Force and when they ultimately are enlisted into the Defence Force. Again, when we came to government, that period was measured in over 300 days. That's now down to about 266. But it needs to be much lower because we're losing a lot of people along the way. So, I think we can do better in terms of getting Australians into the Defence Force by getting our processes up to scratch. That said, we're making real progress and the figures that we were able to announce yesterday is a really big step in the right direction.

PETERSON: And just finally, we had Greg Carter on the programme yesterday, a Vietnam veteran who wrote into the show and he's a little worried about the way some replica war medals and badges are now being sold, saying they're worn sometimes indiscriminately, with no real understanding of the significance that those who hold them are entitled to wear them, you can find them online and the like. Is that anything has been raised with you, Deputy Prime Minister? Have you started to see anybody who is perhaps wearing a replica war medal, who shouldn't be wearing a replica war medal, or buying a replica war medal when they shouldn't be buying one?

MARLES: I mean, not specifically, but I would say that– and obviously a lot of family members, children and grandchildren of veterans, wear medals proudly of their forebears who have served. And I think that's something that is appropriate. But I would also acknowledge that these medals are hugely significant. They mean something in the context of that person's life. They actually mean something in the context of our history. And it is really important that they are appropriately respected and worn in a respectful way and worn by the right people. So, this is something that really does matter. And I think, you know, when you speak to any person who has served, any veteran, families of veterans – the appropriate dignity that is shown to every aspect of the service of those who have served is really, really important and fundamental. And medals is very much at the heart of that. 

PETERSON: Yeah, as Tony made mention, he himself bought some because he wanted to show that as patriotic and to dedicate that to those who served on our behalf. Deputy Prime Minister, I appreciate your time today. Thank you very much.

ENDS