Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this motion, and I do so because it is one of the most important projects that's been undertaken in South Australia not just for South Australia but for the entire nation, for Australia, for our defence industry, for manufacturing and for the creation of jobs. I heard what the member for Riverina was saying, and I accept that the Morrison government put things into action to ensure that we had the AUKUS partnership and that the nuclear powered submarines, which are so important to our defence strategy, are built in South Australia.

But I also would like to say that, prior to that, there was a lot of campaigning taking place from the previous premier Jay Weatherill right through to the then opposition Malinauskas et cetera to make sure that these projects came to fruition and that work was done to ensure that we got this project up and running. When I think of AUKUS in South Australia, I think of 30,000 to 40,000 jobs being created in our state just to support AUKUS, 5,000 to 10,000 jobs at AUKUS plus another 30,000 to 35,000 in small manufacturing—cutting-edge technology jobs for AUKUS and to support AUKUS. When I think of AUKUS, I think we're on the cusp of the next cutting-edge manufacturing revolution in Australia, and I say so based on the history of South Australia.

Back in the 1940s, there was a factory called Holden's that was producing cars. It got together with General Motors from the US, and they produced manufacturing industries that produced motor vehicles for the next 60 or 70 years. Back then, there were two people that had a vision. They were Premier Playford, a Liberal premier—and I give credit to him—and Ben Chifley. They got together and supported the industry. At the time, there were a lot of sceptics around saying: 'This cannot be done. This won't be done. We can't produce like Ford in the United States.' But these two had a vision, and they created it. That created jobs in South Australia, Victoria and other places for many years to come. My father was one of the beneficiaries of General Motors-Holden's. He worked there for most of his life and supported his family. Thousands of people worked there not only in General Motors-Holden's but also in the manufacturing jobs that supported Holden's.

Today, we have that same opportunity with AUKUS. We have that same opportunity to ensure that it goes smoothly and that people with vision are supporting it. We know that the United States is supporting it. We know that Britain is supporting it. The creation of jobs and the creation of work for future generations of Australians—this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for governments to get this right and to ensure that it takes place. When we look at the types of jobs that are being created—and I've been down there on a number of occasions with ministers and shadow ministers over the years—we are creating cutting-edge jobs of the future with good pay and good conditions. At the same time, we are ensuring that we are looking after our defence needs in a region that we will need to look after for many years to come.

This is, as I said, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We're on the cusp of this manufacturing revolution that will create jobs for many generations to come. We just have to make sure that we get this right and that we put everything in place. Things are already starting to happen down there. They're starting to build the premises down there that will house AUKUS. There alone, there are about 2,000 to 3,000 jobs. Once AUKUS gets up and running, there'll be thousands and thousands of jobs. The important thing is the industries that will feed into AUKUS. Already, I've seen statistics saying that people who have moved to South Australia have got their front-end offices already set up in the hundreds. This is a magnificent opportunity. We should all be supporting it. We want to see it come to fruition, which will provide jobs for the future for many generations of South Australians and Australians.

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