Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The shipbuilders at the BAE Williamstown shipyards, in my electorate, have been campaigning for months to bring attention to the valley of death facing their industry. Despite the imminent demand from the Australian Navy for the manufacture of ships in the near future, current contracts for the shipyards are almost complete, and the shipyards have been facing dithering and delays from the Abbott government in replacing them. The government have ignored the pleas to develop a plan for the future and even cut the amount of the potential contracts announced in June, claiming that the shipyards were not capable of replacing the supply ships HMAS Sirius and HMAS Success. Last Friday, we received the welcome news that three new blocks of the air warfare destroyers will be built in the shipyards in Williamstown.

I would like to congratulate the shipbuilders on their efforts in bringing their situation to the attention of our national and state governments and campaigning until their case could no longer be ignored. It is a testament to the expertise, skill and hard work of the BAE shipbuilders that they have been able to secure these contracts. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the AMWU in supporting their members and keeping the issue on the radar.

Now that short-term work for the shipbuilders has been secured, it is time to see a long-term plan for the future of the Williamstown shipyards. We need a long-term plan from the Abbott government that recognises and respects the highly skilled and strategically important shipbuilding industry that we have built in Williamstown. We need a plan that consists of more than ideological muddles and last-minute reprieves. The Abbott government needs to act now to ensure that the skills and talent we have in this industry are not lost through a lack of secure work and that our shipbuilders are treated with the respect that their skills and expertise deserve.