Defence Minister David Johnston has joined Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey, unfairly criticising Australian industry in a bid to cover his own broken promises over building Australia’s future submarines at ASC in Adelaide.
The PM and the Treasurer failed to support the Australian motor industry earlier this year, resulting in carmakers indicating they would pull out of the local market.
Asked during Question Time by Sen. Alex Gallacher (Lab. SA) why he was resorting to “trashing the hard working men and women of the Australian ship and submarine industry in order to justify breaking his promises,” Senator Johnston let out a stream of invective.
“You wonder why I’m worried about ASC and what they’re delivering to the Australian taxpayer, you wonder why I couldn’t trust them to build a canoe?” Sen Johnston said.
In a rambling answer, the Defence Minister revealed his Naval shipbuilding policy was in disarray, first suggesting ASC was $350 million over budget on the air warfare destroyer project, then telling the Senate: “It’s probably more than 600 million but because the data is so bad I can’t tell you.”
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) is campaigning to overturn the minister’s push to send future Navy shipbuilding offshore. ASC and its workforce are a key part of our national security, with highly skilled shipbuilding jobs at risk if the Abbott Government once again fails to back Australian manufacturing industry.
“This is a total outrage that we have a government talking down industry, workers and jobs,” said Glenn Thompson, AMWU Assistant National Secretary. “This is an example of the Government walking away from the shipbuilding industry in the same way it abandoned the car industry,” he said.
The AMWU is backing its members and Australian-based shipbuilders, demanding two replenishment vessels and a fleet of submarines be built here. “Senator Johnston should stop attacking workers and listen to some of his Coalition colleagues who are clearly unhappy with the minister for breaking his promise to build submarines in Adelaide,” Mr Thompson said.
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