Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Brockman for his question on defence industry. I acknowledge his commitment to defence industry in our home state of Western Australia—a true champion. There is no senator or minister prouder than I am today of this government's record on supporting defence. Over the last six years the Liberal-National government has worked to recover and rebuild defence following six years of Labor failure and utter neglect. On this side of the chamber we made a commitment to increase defence spending to two per cent of GDP. We're sticking to it and we are on track to deliver that in the 2020-21 financial year. In 2016 the Liberal-National government released the 2016 Defence white paper and committed to invest over $200 billion into defence capability. Through that we are already supporting over 30,000 jobs right here in Australia. There are now over 3½ thousand SMEs working in the defence industry sector.

All this is possible because of our economic plan to build a stronger economy and a more secure future for all Australians. The Liberal-National government committed to the Naval Shipbuilding Plan to escape from Labor's 'valley of death' and to meet the capability requirements of the Royal Australian Navy. We are investing $90 billion into the Naval Shipbuilding Plan. We on this side of the chamber have commissioned 54 new Australian vessels to be built between Henderson in Western Australia and Osborne in South Australia. This plan is creating thousands of jobs throughout Australia. These are multigenerational jobs. The government is also investing $5 billion in Australia's marine patrol capabilities—new aircraft to keep our borders and our nation safe. There are a further 1,450 jobs right throughout— (Time expired)