George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Xenophon, thank you for that question and thank you for your customary courtesy in giving me advance notice of the question. Senator, I have examined the Defence Teaming Centre's remarks, reported, as you say, in the Adelaide Advertiser on 20 August, and I can tell you that the claims made by the Defence Teaming Centre are quite wrong and the government entirely rejects those claims.

Senator Xenophon, as you say, last August—on 4 August, in fact; last month—the Prime Minister, the defence minister, Mr Pyne, the senior South Australian minister and the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Barrett, made a historic announcement in Adelaide about the future of naval shipbuilding in Australia. The aggregate of the corvettes or offshore patrol vessels, the future frigates and the submarines is, as you say, some $89 billion. During the course of that announcement, the Prime Minister, speaking of the offshore patrol vessels and the future frigates, indicated that, between those two projects, some $40 billion would be spent substantially onshore, substantially in Adelaide. So the claims made by the Defence Teaming Centre are entirely wrong.

As you would also be aware, Senator Xenophon, one of the other aspects of that decision, which is also very good news for people in your state, is that the offshore patrol vessel build was being brought forward to 2018 and the future frigates build, which will take place in Adelaide, has been brought forward to 2020. So, Senator Xenophon, there is a bright, bright future for naval shipbuilding in Adelaide as a result of the announcements to which you have referred.