5 years ago
"VALLEY OF DEATH" FAR FROM OVER
MATT KEOGH MP
In October 2017, then Defence Minister Christopher Pyne declared “the valley of death is over” in relation to South Australian Shipbuilding.
As recently as July, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said, "We have taken steps to support industry, mitigate risks associated with the availability of suitably skilled and experienced workers, and to stabilise the workforce during transition between build projects."
We know now this isn’t the case.
As revealed by the Department of Defence in Senate Estimates today, up to 800 workers are expected to have lost their jobs by March 2020.
Under questioning from Labor officials from the Department of Defence revealed in addition to the 577 workers who have lost their jobs in South Australian shipbuilding since 2017, there are a further 220 jobs “at risk” by the end of March 2020.
Workers will be going into Christmas not knowing whether or not their jobs are secure.
This Federal Liberal Government has continually mismanaged and politicised the Naval Shipbuilding program to the detriment of Australia’s strategic imperative.
The Morrison Government need to get serious about Australian Defence Industry jobs – that means maximising jobs and training opportunities for the long term.
As recently as July, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said, "We have taken steps to support industry, mitigate risks associated with the availability of suitably skilled and experienced workers, and to stabilise the workforce during transition between build projects."
We know now this isn’t the case.
As revealed by the Department of Defence in Senate Estimates today, up to 800 workers are expected to have lost their jobs by March 2020.
Under questioning from Labor officials from the Department of Defence revealed in addition to the 577 workers who have lost their jobs in South Australian shipbuilding since 2017, there are a further 220 jobs “at risk” by the end of March 2020.
Workers will be going into Christmas not knowing whether or not their jobs are secure.
This Federal Liberal Government has continually mismanaged and politicised the Naval Shipbuilding program to the detriment of Australia’s strategic imperative.
The Morrison Government need to get serious about Australian Defence Industry jobs – that means maximising jobs and training opportunities for the long term.