Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett for his further supplementary question. The decision to build our future submarines in Adelaide has not been made in isolation. The Turnbull government will implement historic and far-reaching reforms to the naval shipbuilding industry in Australia. At the heart of that is the commencement of a continuous build of major surface vessels at the Adelaide shipyard, staring with the offshore patrol vessels in 2018 and then continuing with the future frigates in 2020.

These projects together will create over 3,100 direct jobs, with thousands more created right across the combined ship and submarine building supply chains across the country. These supply chains, which are already in existence but will grow significantly as these projects advance, hold the greatest opportunities for the growth of and the ability to create a sustainable naval shipbuilding industry and naval manufacturing base. (Time expired)