Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like many South Australians, I welcome the government's white paper on defence. As a South Australian I took particular note of the commitment to enable the shipbuilding industry, the extent of which will unfold in coming months. But, particularly, I might say, there was special relevance for my electorate in the reinvestment plans in Woomera and the Cultana training facility.

Woomera was once a town of over 6,000 people when our American friends were there. The school has capacity for 1,450 students and it has slipped a bit since then, but this will breathe new life into Woomera—one of the most fascinating towns in Australia with one of the most fascinating histories. The $550 million that is planned to be spent there will enable the testing of the EA-18G Growler electronic attack capability. Many other facilities there will be upgraded. Already the tarmac has been upgraded, and there will be a lot of possibilities for local employment and local contractors to get into the business of rejuvenating Woomera. In the south at Cultana we are also seeing over $80 million spent on that expansion, and I welcome that expenditure as well.