Press conference, Henderson Defence Precinct, Fremantle

SUBJECTS: Army landing craft; AUKUS; Hunter-class frigates; WA politics

JOSH WILSON, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FREMANTLE: Good morning. It’s great to be here in Henderson in the federal electorate of Fremantle and the state electorate of Coburn on the lands of the [indistinct] elders past and present. Of course, I acknowledge that today is Remembrance Day, and so we all have in our thoughts and pay special respect to current and former service people, noting [indistinct] day. 

I’m here with a number of my colleagues, my very good friend and colleague Pat Conroy, the Minister for Defence Industry, Amber-Jade Sanderson, the Western Australian Minister for Manufacturing and Skills and also the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Industries, and my fellow local member, David Skaife, who is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Defence Industry Minister.

We’re here in Henderson to hear from Pat Conroy and Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson about further progress in this very, very important enterprise. This enterprise is all about making sure that Australia has the sovereign defence capacity that we need to have, the manufacturing capacity that we need to have [indistinct]. We are an island nation and we are a nation whose trade depends very much on our seaborn connections, and so does our defence and security. And so it’s critical that we have the assets that sustain that capability going into the future. They are assets that are made here as part of the future made in Australia, that is sustained here, that have the infrastructure and the shipbuilding prime capacity and a great ecosystem of small and medium businesses that contribute to that and the skilled workforce both in the manufacturing and sustainment part of the exercise but also in operating these vessels into the future. 

Part of what we need from a defence and security point of view, part of what we need as an island continent nation and part of what we should have in playing our role in the region, noting that the kind of vessels we’re looking at today – Landing Craft Medium and Landing Craft Heavy – whilst having a primary defence purpose obviously, with their amphibious capabilities, are the kinds of vessels that can make a contribution in disaster relief and humanitarian kinds of circumstances, the likes of which we have seen in the past and the likes of which we will certainly see in the future. 

So I’m really glad to be here with colleagues, and I’ll hand over to Minister Pat Conroy. 

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Thanks, Josh. It’s great to be here in WA again, a really important contributor to the defence future of this nation. Of course, today is Remembrance Day so I begin by saying it’s a privilege to be here on Remembrance Day and to commemorate the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Australians, which I’ll do later today at the main WA ceremony. 

Can I thank Josh and Dave for their great welcome, two incredibly powerful advocates for the local community here. It’s great to be joined by Minister Sanderson, a really strong advocate for WA industries. It’s also great to have representatives from the Department of Defence and the Australian Army here as well as Paddy Gregg from Austal Shipbuilding, our strategic shipbuilding partner. 

Behind us is the first production of what is the centrepiece for the transformation of the Australian Army. The National Defence Strategy outlined the transformation of the Australian Army into one focused on what’s called littoral manoeuvre and long-range strike. What does that mean? The ability for the Australian Army to move further and faster, carry equipment that can defend this country. And what you’re seeing is the centrepiece of that behind us. 

Today we’re announcing that production has begun on Landing Craft Heavy. The Landing Craft Heavy vessels are critical to amphibious manoeuvre for the Australian Army. These vessels in conjunction with Landing Craft Medium that have already started production here in the Henderson strip will transport Australian Army equipment, will transport our tanks, our infantry fighting vehicles, our rocket launchers thousands of kilometres to islands and wherever we need to get them to be put in place to defend this country. They will then be able to position those rocket launchers, for example, that have a range of 500 kilometres and soon will have a strike range of over 1,000 kilometres, to deter conflict in our region. 

So these vessels will allow the Australian Army to move further, faster, carrying the strike equipment to defend this country. So this is a great day for the Australian Army, and it’s a great day for the WA defence industry. 

These two projects are part of a $5 billion investment by the Albanese Labor Government in this really important endeavour. This $5 billion investment will create a thousand high-skilled jobs directly with Austal and 2,000 indirect jobs through the supply chain. And this means more well-paid, highly secure jobs for Western Australians, contributing to the defence of the nation and making us safer. 

So these vessels will allow the Australian Army to move further and faster carrying the strike power we need to defend this country as well as growing the economy of WA. We’re committed to a defence future made in Australia, and this project is an example of a defence future made in WA, and it’s a proud day for all the partners involved. 

I’ll hand over to Minister Sanderson for some comments, and then Paddy on behalf of Austal. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRIES AMBER-JADE SANDERSON: Thanks, Minister Conroy, and thank you to Austal and Paddy Gregg for hosting us today. The Cook Labor Government wants us – wants to make more things in Western Australia, and defence industries represents a huge opportunity for the local community and the workforce. Austal is an incredible example of WA capability and the support of the local supply chain and local businesses. 

The landing craft program represents a continuous shipbuilding program for Western Australia and generational opportunities for Western Australians to be able to take up those jobs. We want Western Australians to be delivering these projects. In August we saw Austal launch a campaign for 500 workers to deliver this program. Overall, it will deliver around 1,100 direct jobs and around 2,000 indirect jobs through the local supply chain. These trades include fabrication, electricians, cabinet makers and roles in engineer and project management. We know that we need to provide training opportunities for Western Australia, and it was great to meet a few of those apprentices here today contributing to the landing craft program. 

We are also launching with Austal the shipbuilding-ready engineering skill program, which is a course that gives students the opportunities to take up apprenticeship-level, entry-level trade assistant roles at Austal, providing them with a Cert II to then go on and be prepared to take up apprenticeships if that’s what they choose to do. We’re very supportive of the continuous shipbuilding program and we’ll continue to support this important program with the Commonwealth by providing free TAFE and incentives for apprentices and employers to take on apprentices in what will be our second biggest economic area of growth in our economy in Western Australia. 

I’ll hand over to Paddy Gregg, and I’ll take local questions at the end. 

AUSTAL CEO PADDY GREGG: Thank you, Minister. And to Minister Conroy, we’re delighted to host you, Minister Sanderson and our defence supply chain partners here at Henderson today. We really appreciate you joining us for this announcement and to celebrate what you’re achieving together, especially on this special day, Remembrance Day, you know, we remember the servicemen and women who have – and the sacrifices they have made so we can be here today. 

It’s a very important day for us as Australia’s strategic shipbuilder here in Western Australia. The start of production of the landing craft project is a major step forward in our delivery of littoral capability to the Army. It reinforces Austal’s ability to build complex naval platforms at a world-class Western Australian facilities support by an incredible workforce and established supply chain. 

Many people have worked very hard to get us to where we are today. And I acknowledge the outstanding efforts of Gavin and the project teams and to all of our people here at Austal Defence Australia. 

Beginning construction of the landing craft project also represents something much bigger – a continuous naval shipbuilding future in Western Australia. It’s already resulting in significant economic benefit and the industrial benefits are confirming Henderson as a national defence manufacturing hub. 

I also acknowledge the Commonwealth and the announcement they made recently about the $245 million investment in the Landing Craft Heavy construction facilities here where we’re standing today. Along with today’s announcement, this is proof that the strategic shipbuilding agreement is succeeding. It showcases Austal and the Commonwealth working as strategic partners to ensure the Commonwealth’s vision becomes a reality and we at Austal are committed to ensuring that system’s success. 

Thank you, I’ll hand back to the Minister. 

MINISTER CONROY: Thanks, Paddy. And before I open up to questions, I think that’s a really important point to finish on – two points. One, we’re committed to using all levers of the government to support the growth of this industry in WA. So the announcement of a $245 million investment by the National Reconstruction Fund to allow the construction of those shipbuilding facilities was a critical announcement a few weeks ago. And secondly, this is the heart of continuous naval shipbuilding in WA, a commitment only the Albanese Labor Government has made. 

I met a young apprentice, George, who is working on this project. The plan is that after Landing Craft Medium and heavy are finished we will move seamlessly into construction of the Mogami-class frigate. That means that the Georges of the world, the young apprentices of the world, will have decades’ worth of work here in Henderson building the most advanced vessels for the Australian Defence Force so that they can know that they can raise a family here, buy a house, raise the next generation of West Australians, secure in the fact that they’ve got jobs for life helping defend this country. 

Now, happy to answer questions. We’ll start on today’s announcement first. Any questions? 

JOURNALIST: A couple of months ago [indistinct] in WA. [Indistinct] so far? 

PADDY GREGG: It’s just been amazing engagement. I think this year we’ve recruited 562 people already. Some of that replaces people that leave the industry or retire, but, yeah, there’s certainly real desire to come and work here with the longevity of work that we can now offer. 

JOURNALIST: What industries are they transitioning from? 

PADDY GREGG: So there’s a lot of common trades here in Western Australia – you know, the mining industry is obviously a huge pool. But apprentices, we need to add people to Western Australia and grow this economy, so we’re very keen to bring in new people, young people, retrained people and give them a long career in our industry. 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] construction of heavy landing craft. How long is it [indistinct] to see [indistinct]? 

PADDY GREGG: So it was a big program of work on the landing craft. This will take us all the way through to 2038. So a fantastic long program. 

JOURNALIST: And when will the first one [indistinct]? 

PADDY GREGG: So the first ship should be handed over in 2029. 

JOURNALIST: How are negotiations going with Hanwha? 

PADDY GREGG: You know, that’s very interesting. They’re very serious about wanting to do something and the board are taking it very seriously. And we’ll act in the best interests of shareholders. 

JOURNALIST: And what about Wildcat?

PADDY GREGG: That’s also interesting, but not quite as advanced as Hanwha. 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] going to be able to [indistinct] work and the investment that’s going to happen within this precinct over the next five or 10 years? 

PADDY GREGG: It’s not going to be easy but, you know, we’re working with the people developing the sites. As you’re aware, we’ve secured this facility for the Landing Craft Heavy program. We’ll use our existing facilities for the Landing Craft Medium program. So, yeah, I’m confident that we’ve got the capability. We’ll recruit people and we know how to build ships. 

JOURNALIST: What stage are you at so far with the landing craft? 

PADDY GREGG: Very early stages. You know, this is just the start of construction. So we’ve been through the design process. We’ve started buying the materials, and this is where things really ramp up as we get into the production of the vessels. 

JOURNALIST: And it’s on schedule at the moment? 

PADDY GREGG: Absolutely. 

JOURNALIST: And by 2029 [indistinct] will that be used in Australia or elsewhere? 

PADDY GREGG: That’s for the Defence Force. We’ll concentrate on building them and hand them over to them. 

MINISTER CONROY: So we made an announcement I think earlier this year. We’ll be standing up a landing craft battalion as part of the transformation of the Australian Army. So the plan is that we would have units of this based in Darwin and Queensland, marrying up with the three combat brigades of the Australian Army, because obviously you need to be close to the equipment you’re transporting. So this is a critical part of the transformation of the Australian Army, and the delivery of these vessels is instrumental in that. And WA, Western Australia, should be so proud of their role in doing this. 

JOURNALIST: So there’ll be none stationed in WA? 

MINISTER CONROY: No, the plan is that they would marry up with the three combat brigades. The brigades are based in Brisbane, be Townsville and Darwin. And that makes sense. These vessels are there to transport tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, combat reconnaissance vehicles, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, the HIMARS rocket launchers, so they need to be near where those brigades are. Obviously northwest Western Australia has a strong military presence with other vessels regularly patrolling that area. 

JOURNALIST: Disaster relief from [indistinct] main uses of these vessels? [Indistinct]. What are we going to see these vessels mostly [indistinct]? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, Josh Wilson is absolutely right – these are multi-purpose vessels. They’ve got the ability to transport equipment thousands of kilometres, so just like our LHDs, which are the size of small aircraft carriers as well as HMAS Choules, they’re designed principally for warfighting to transport equipment and helicopters, but they are also used for humanitarian relief as well. And I’m not going to get ahead of myself, but the ADF makes assets available to the government of the day to help with disaster relief. And these will obviously be vessels that will be relevant for that. 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] slightly related [indistinct] Western Australia today. The Australia Institute [indistinct] into the deaths of [indistinct]. What’s your reaction? 

MINISTER CONROY: That is a political question, which I will answer, but I’ll just check if there’s any other questions about today’s announcement? Otherwise I will let our colleagues from Austal and Defence exit the picture. 

JOURNALIST: Could you just clarify what the direct jobs and indirect jobs will be? 

MINISTER CONROY: Yes, so there will be – I’ll invite Paddy to supplement if I miss anything– so there’ll be 1,100 direct jobs building Landing Craft Heavey and Landing Craft Medium. By direct jobs we mean within Austal. And then there will be 2,000 jobs in the supply chain helping build them. So to give you an example, some of the modules for Landing Craft Heavy – because these are 4,000 tonne ships, they’re as big as the Anzac-class frigate that’s just down the road. Some of those modules will be built in the Henderson precinct by the supply chain and then transported over to here for consolidation, for joining together. So it’s fair to say that this project will create 3,100 well-paid, secure jobs for people in this area. 

SPEAKER: Brigadier [indistinct], ma’am, do you mind just stepping up for a minute to cover – quickly expand on the capability of the landing crafts? 

BRIGADIER REBECCA TALBOT: Well, firstly, can I just say on behalf of the Australian Army this is a really exciting announcement. It represents a really tangible milestone for the Australian Army in realising our littoral capability. And I suppose just to expand on it, as you’ve heard, these vessels will provide extended reach and greater freedom of movement in our region so we can move not only army but any other forces that might need to be operating all around our region. The vessels have great capability to move into areas that we currently can’t access. Our region to the north is dominated by vast shorelines, many islands and a lacking of infrastructure. So, these vessels really enable the Australian Army and, more broadly, the Australian Defence Force to move in and around the region and support whatever task it is that we’re being asked to deliver. 

JOURNALIST: What do you think [indistinct] the main [indistinct] of these [indistinct]? Like, what do you need them for right now? 

BRIGADIER TALBOT: So absolutely as you’ve heard, they are going to provide a really important lift in our ability to transport a range of our capabilities we’re investing in right now – long-range strike, the combined arms fight system. We’ll be able to move those to the point that is required at the right time. These vessels really provide us some great flexibility and responsiveness to the tasks that we’ve got that we currently don’t have with our Royal Australian Navy vessels, purely because of the size and the ability to move in and around the region. These vessels provide us that great movement and freedom of access that we currently don’t have. So regardless of the task, I expect these vessels to be able to respond really quickly and with great effect. 

JOURNALIST: How many Army or Defence personnel can it carry [indistinct]? 

BRIGADIER TALBOT: Yeah, certainly. The Landing Craft Heavy at this stage, they’ll be able to have a range of different vehicles and equipment that are situated on it. But the heavy itself should be able to carry about 230 what we call embarked persons. So that might be the army members that are moving to a point or whether it’s navy and air force. It should be about 230-odd. And in the medium, they also have the capacity to carry not only equipment but also people. So they’ll be a smaller number. I think it’s something around 80 or so, but still a really impressive package of people and equipment to be moved in and around our region. 

MINISTER CONROY: Just to give you a concrete example – because we talk about amphibious manoeuvre, littoral manoeuvre, and it’s pretty jargon-rich – we’ve got thousands of islands as part of the Commonwealth of Australia, and these vessels would have the ability to transport, say, our High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems that Ukraine is using against the Russians right now. It could transport them to Cocos & Keeling Island. Those rocket launches currently have a range of 500 kilometres. They’ll soon have a range of a thousand kilometres and the ability to strike [indistinct]. So if you transport the rocket launches to Cocos and Keeling, then you can draw a circle of a thousands-kilometre radius around it and the Australian Army can hit any potential adversary ship in that range. So this is about providing a deterrence effect to anyone thinking of taking Australia by forward-deploying Army assets to help defend this nation. So this is why this is so powerful. This gets the Australian Army to where it needs to be to deter conflict by threatening the assets of any potential adversary. 

I might ask Austal and Defence to exit the stage. So thank you very much, colleagues. 

Your question on AUKUS, so I’m aware of the campaign by the Australian Institute which drove the recent so-called inquiry that was conducted. Let’s be very clear about this: the Australian Institute is a mouthpiece of the Greens political party. It is led by former Greens employees and, in fact, the minute they released their report I saw an email go out raising funds for the Australia Institute out of it saying if you’re opposed to AUKUS, donate to the Australia Institute. Like, this is a giant sort of political activation [indistinct] for the Greens political party. And that’s fine, but own it, be frank about it. Be frank that [indistinct] AUKUS, that you don’t want the Royal Australian Navy to have the best possible capability to defend this nation and that you’re opposed to 20,000 jobs in this country, including thousands in WA, and that you’re opposed to deterring conflict by giving our navy the strongest possible platforms to put down in the minds of adversaries. So I expect the Australia Institute to continue to be a mouthpiece for the Greens. I expect them to try and raise funds on this issue, because that’s their business model.

JOURNALIST: And, Minister, [Indistinct] Australians [indistinct]. Do you think that’s changed after what’s happened in the US [indistinct]? 

MINISTER CONROY: Look, the alliance with the United States is a critical part of our security arrangements. And that commitment to that alliance is completely bipartisan in both countries. I was in the US Senate for the passage of the AUKUS legislation that had an 80 per cent yes vote. So this alliance will be strong no matter who is in power in the United States or Australia for that case, because of that bipartisan commitment. And that’s incredibly important. 

I’ll point out that a Lowy Institute poll found that a growing majority of Australians supported the plans to get nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines. I think in the latest Lowy poll it went up from 64 to 67 per cent. So more Australians want the Royal Australian Navy to have the best possible capability to defend this country against possible conflict in our region. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, will progress on AUKUS be set back if Sec Pete Hegseth is impeached in the United States? 

MINISTER CONROY: Look, I’m not going to comment about domestic political processes. That’s another country. That’s just not what responsible leaders do. But, again, I will say that AUKUS is full steam ahead. We’re hitting every milestone. We’ve got the USS Colorado in town at the moment for the next submarine maintenance period. We’re hitting every major milestone in that area. And the commitment to that is completely bipartisan. So no matter who is in government in the United States or Australia, I’m confident it will continue at full speed. 

Any other questions? 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] British counterterrorist police says a soldier in the US Army has been arrested on suspicion of spying on Russia. Has Australia been briefed on the implications of this intelligence breach, and are you concerned about it? 

MINISTER CONROY: I’m not in a position to comment on that particular issue for obvious reasons. 

JOURNALIST: Will you commit that the Navy will see six Hunter-class frigates and that there are no plans to [indistinct] that position? 

MINISTER CONROY: The plan is that we will acquire six Hunter-class anti-submarine frigates as part of our plans to more than double the Royal Australian Navy. We will be going from a Royal Australian Navy that has 11 major surface combatants to one that has more than 20, with the construction of six Hunter-class frigates in Osborne, the construction of 11 general-purpose frigates through a combination of offshore build and then transferring it to Henderson here as well as the three air warfare destroyers. That’s our commitment. 

Excellent.

SPEAKER: Any questions for [indistinct]?

JOURNALIST: Yes, I’ve got one. Thanks, Minister. When were you first made aware that Dr [indistinct] was [indistinct]? 

MINISTER SANDERSON: Well, I received a couple of emails, I think it was three emails, to my electorate office. And I received – just to provide some context, I received hundreds of emails a week from a range of people with a range of assertions. This email obviously presented a range of issues around Dr [Indistinct]’s personal financial situation. [Indistinct] three occasions over this year. 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]. 

MINISTER SANDERSON: I sent all three of those emails to [indistinct]. 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct]. 

MINISTER SANDERSON: Well, my understanding is that this is a private financial issue not relating to his duties as a member of parliament and that he has been transparent about those issues. What I received was an email that related to a Labor backbencher and it was appropriate in my view to forward those emails to the state secretary for his awareness. 

JOURNALIST: Is Labor worried at all about the potential [indistinct]? 

MINISTER SANDERSON: Well, look, we are focused on doing what’s right for Western Australia. We’re focused on delivering good government. We’re focused on building jobs. We’re focused on making sure that West Australian businesses in this precinct get the opportunities of continuous shipbuilding over the next 30 years. That’s what we’re focused on. [Indistinct] has made all the declarations that [indistinct]. He is [indistinct] some very different personal financial circumstances, and I hope they’re resolved for him soon. 

JOURNALIST: So you’re not concerned about [indistinct] by-election in [indistinct]? 

MINISTER SANDERSON: Look, as I said, we’re focused on making sure that West Australians take up these job opportunities. That is our number one focus.

ENDS