Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. How is the Albanese Labor government ensuring our defence personnel have the skills and training to operate our future naval capabilities and defend Australia's economic and security interests?

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wills for his question and acknowledge the contribution he's made in this place and, indeed, in his pre-parliamentary life to our nation's security.

Last week I was in the United Kingdom and was present at the commissioning of HMS Anson, an Astute class submarine in the Royal Navy, at BAE's facility in Barrow-in-Furness. I had the opportunity of being shown around that facility and was presented with the way in which BAE build both the Dreadnought and Astute class submarines. It really was a sight to see.

I met with my counterpart, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, and the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and we talked about the very solid progress happening in respect of AUKUS. This builds on a visit back in July to the United States, where I met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, where we also spoke about the progress of AUKUS. Across all three countries there is a sense of shared mission, which has us on track to making a decision in the first part of next year about which platform will be the basis of Australia's nuclear-powered future submarine.

It's important, as the physical submarine is, that there is a human dimension to this challenge. We need to be growing a submariner cohort able to operate this submarine from the first day it enters the water. I spoke with Ben Wallace about providing the opportunity for Australian submariners in the very early part of the life of HMS Anson to be a part of that submarine's crew. And this is in addition to opportunities that we're pursuing in the United States, where I met with two Australian students who are participating in the US reactor engineering school. They're in Washington.

As we build this defence—the submariner cohort—it's being reflected also in those opportunities that we're providing to those who will be building our submarines and our surface fleet. Indeed, I met with a couple of Australians who, right now, in Gubbin and in Glasgow, are building HMS Glasgow, the first of the Type 26 frigates in the Royal Navy. Type 26 frigates are the reference class of ship for the Hunter class, which are the future frigates that we will be building. They're part of a group of 80 Australians who have participated in building HMS Glasgow and will be coming back to Australia in the years ahead to build HMAS Hunter. It is inspiring to speak to these young Australians, and, be it by operating our submarines or building our ships, all of these Australians are making a huge contribution to our nation's security.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I'd like to associate the coalition with the Minister for Defence's comments on AUKUS. It was the former coalition government who struck AUKUS in September of last year. AUKUS is the biggest defence and foreign policy achievement since ANZUS 70 years ago. We want to see AUKUS realised as quickly as possible. In fact, our strategic circumstances require exceptional leadership from the Minister for Defence, and we're going to be holding him to account to make sure—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. Resume your seat. We're moving to the next question. That is not how indulgence works, member for Canning, and it's a lesson—

Honourable members interjecting—

Order. If you wish to take indulgence, you need to make it clear and concise—not stray into partisan politics.