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

One of the line items in last night's budget, I am proud to stand here and say, was our government's commitment to building more Bushmasters in Bendigo, with an extra $750 million to deliver extra Bushmasters to the Australian Defence Force—268 in total—which will secure work at the site for the next seven years, securing the jobs of 300 locals and encouraging Thales to bring on that next generation of tradies. They are already talking to local schools about the opportunities that could exist at Thales once they leave school.

This is an exciting moment for Bendigo—locking in these jobs and securing the site. I just want to remind the House where the site was at, prior to the 2022 election. Thales had reached out to say that they had no work secured by those opposite. The site would close if Labor did not win the election. The good news is: we did win the election, and, with the dedication of this government, we've secured the jobs and secured contracts now and into the future.

I want to pay tribute to the workers and their union, for hanging in there and for committing to the site, and to this government, for backing in these workers and this future manufacturing that will continue at the site, locked into our budget, now and into the future.

See this speech in context