Radio Interview, ABC Radio Adelaide

SUBJECTS: AUKUS, Labor national conference, US tariffs.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: One of the big announcements around that is the latest stage of the preparations for AUKUS. $4.6 billion has been allocated to the further construction of the AUKUS shipyard where the nuclear-powered submarines will eventually be built. Pat Conway is the Minister for Defence Industry at the federal level, is with us this afternoon. minister, thank you for your time.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: My pleasure, Nikolai.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ. So, what is this money going to be spent on?

MINISTER CONROY: This money is going on further works around the submarine construction yard at Osborne. This is part of $30 billion investment to build the most advanced shipyard in the southern hemisphere, doing the most advanced industrial work this country's ever seen. We already have 1,100 South Australians working on this project, and we're expecting that to peak well above 10,000 as the project matures.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: When it comes to some of those figures and acknowledging what you've said that this is a very large, very complex undertaking, I think it would be fair to say that for some people they'd look at it and say how can you spend $30 billion building just the yards?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, we have to build the most advanced naval capability in the world. These are the most advanced naval submarines in the world, and we want to be able to build them in this country for our own sovereignty and self-reliance. And this is an investment that's worth doing. To give you an idea of the scale, the submarine construction yard will be 10 times the size of the current shipyard building the … frigates. So, it is a big investment, but it's an investment in our national security and our safety. And it's the best way of deterring conflict in our region, which is in all our interests.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: Is it good value for taxpayer money?

MINISTER CONROY: Absolutely. This is, this is part of a record investment in defence. But that record investment is still nothing compared to what an investment in wartime would cost us. So, to give you an idea of the scale, we're investing about  2.8 per cent of GDP. So, 2.8 per cent of our economy is dedicated to defence. At the peak of World War II, we were spending 40 per cent. So, 4 in $10 of our national economy was spent on defence. We never want to be in that position again. But the best way of avoiding war is a strong defence force that deters conflict in the region. And the bonus of it is tens of thousands of high-skill, high-wage jobs doing the most advanced industrial work in the world. So, that's a good bonus that gives us more sovereignty and self-reliance as well as putting food on the table of local South Australians.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: You touched on the workforce there. So, the extra money that's been allocated today that $4.6 billion. How many new jobs will that create?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, it's part of the continuing work. So, the work will lead to about 4,500 people building the yard at its peak, and then around five and a half thousand people will be building the actual submarines. Importantly, we're training Australians to do this work. We're not just relying on poaching from other industries. So, one of the buildings that's being built right now is the Skills and Training Academy, which is a massive training academy that will begin its first intake in the first quarter of 2028, and it will train 1,000 South Australians every year to do some of the most advanced work in the world.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: One of the points that tends to come up when we talk about AUKUS, and obviously we talk about it a lot here on the station, but in the city more broadly, is whether or not submarines are still going to be an effective form of defence and potentially attack by the time we actually have them, given the evolution of things like drones.

MINISTER CONROY: Yeah, well, I do see this debate, and I've heard all these theories that the ocean's going to be rendered transparent through sensors and drones, but what I can say to you is that nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines are still the most effective strike weapon in maritime warfare. And don't take my word for it, take the word of every advanced nation in the world that's building them. It's not as if we're out on our own doing this and everyone else is investing in drones by themselves. Every major nation is building these because they understand the importance of them and they understand how lethal they can be. We're also investing in autonomous systems. So, we actually lead the world in maritime autonomous systems. We're building the Ghost Shark extra large underwater vessel, as well as Speartooth, as well as the Ocius Blue Bottle, which is a surface autonomous vessel. So, we're doing both. But nothing can replace what a nuclear-powered submarine can do, which means it can travel at above 30 knots forever, quite frankly. As long as it's got reactor life, it can travel perpetuity at high speeds, at high stealth, carrying a big load of torpedoes and cruise missiles to deter conflict in our region. So, it's really worth investing in because it will deter conflict.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: As I mentioned, we've been talking about the national Labor Party conference is underway today. The debate around AUKUS, though, isn't scheduled to happen until tomorrow. Why has it been pushed right to the end of the conference?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I reject that characterisation. It's just when the chapter, chapter seven. Our place in the world was due to be debated. There's no hiding this where the --

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: Someone decided it was going to be chapter seven.

MINISTER CONROY: Well, there's always been. Well, always is probably a strong word in my living memory. I've been involved in national conferences since 2002, 2003. This chapter has always been one of the later chapters. But the important thing is, unlike any other political party, our conference is open. We don't hide behind closed doors. Anyone can log on and watch our conference in action so that the Australian people can see the democratic decision-making processes of the Australian Labor Party, which is Australia's oldest political party. We don't hide behind closed doors like the Liberals do and the Greens and God knows what One Nation does. Ours is in the full blare of the public light, and we've got nothing to hide, and that's why we do it that way.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: Other news that's developed over the course of the day is that the US President Donald Trump has announced a new round of tariffs, 12.5 per cent placed on Australian exports. Now, I guess that may not have a direct impact on AUKUS, but does it undermine the relationship between Australia and the US? I mean, if we were such great allies working on this program together, shouldn't we be avoiding that penalty?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, it's unjustified, and that's the case. We'll continue to make the point to the United States Government that it's unjustified, that the sensible reason for it is around penalising countries that don't have strong anti-slavery measures. We've got some of the strongest anti-slavery measures in the world, so we don't think it's justified, and we don't think it's consistent with the US Free Trade Agreement will continue to make the case. But ultimately, these tariffs aren't paid by Australians, they're paid by American consumers. So, this is an act of economic self-harm that is occurring to US consumers. So, we don't support it; we think it's unjustified. But ultimately, the pain will be borne by those consumers.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: And you're heading to the US very soon. Will you be making that point directly?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I won't. I generally don't forecast my private conversations, but I will always stick up for Australia, and I will convey our views around a number of issues. I'm visiting a submarine construction factory in South Carolina to understand the lessons there for what we're doing in South Australia. I'll be meeting with my counterparts at the Pentagon and US Congress and then visiting missile production facilities because we've started making missiles in this country. I opened with Premier Malinauskas, the first missile factory at Port Wakefield last year. We've got a second one coming in, the Hunter, and a third by the end of the decade, so that we can make our own missiles here. Because given the global demand for these weapons, if you don't want to be at the end of the queue, you've got to create your own queue, building your own. And that's what we're doing.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: Pat Conroy, thank you for your time this afternoon.

MINISTER CONROY: Thanks. Have a great evening. Bye-bye.

NIKOLAI BEILHARZ: Bye-bye. The Federal Minister for Defence Industry.

ENDS