Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have received some great news in Bendigo. It is great to be able to stand here and say that this government has finally signed the Hawkei contract, which will lock in hundreds of defence manufacturing jobs in my electorate of Bendigo. The Bendigo Thales facility which designed the Hawkei and produced the prototype under the former Labor government has now secured the contract to manufacture the Hawkei. This credit needs to go to, first, the workers at Bendigo Thales. We need to acknowledge the work of the AMWU, the AWU and the ETU and the workforce at Bendigo Thales for helping to build this great vehicle.

We also need to acknowledge the Department of Defence and the work that they did to ensure, regardless of who was the defence minister or who was the Prime Minister, that this contract would be signed and to lock in these jobs. I note the former Minister for Defence is in the chamber and I thank him for his support to lock in the Hawkei contract so that people of Bendigo could continue to produce the Hawkei locally. I do have a question, though, for the former minister. Would he have made the announcement in Bendigo or in the electorate next door at Monegeetta, where they have preselected a Liberal candidate? It strikes me as very odd that rather than standing with the workers and the manufacturer in Bendigo, the Prime Minister went to the neighbouring electorate. (Time expired)