2 years ago
GOVERNMENT MUST COMMIT TO LOCAL SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY
BRENDAN O’CONNOR MP
The Morrison Government must confirm its commitment to local workers and industry following revelations Australians living and working in France on the Future Submarines project will count as Australian industry expenditure.
A heavily redacted Freedom Of Information request has revealed the Strategic Partnering Agreement between Australia and Naval Group says Australian workers in France will count as Australian industry expenditure.
The version of the SPA that has been made public, however, does not reveal how much the penalties to Naval Group are if they do not meet that local content requirement. Are these penalties able to just be absorbed into the contractor’s costs of doing business?
How many other exemptions, exclusions and allowances have been included in this agreement that have not been made public?
If the Government hadn’t rushed to sign the original contract and had included enforceable Australian industry content provisions from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in the position of needing to renegotiate this agreement.
The Government has completely mismanaged the Future Submarines program from the beginning.
It is now running 10 years late and $40 billion over budget at $89 billion – the largest procurement in Australia’s history.
They like to talk tough on Defence, but the Morrison Government’s rhetoric fails to match the reality, which is cuts to the Defence capital expenditure budget, cost blowouts on mismanaged projects and a failure to deliver the major projects we need to defend our nation.
Labor wants to see the Future Submarines delivered on time, on budget with jobs given to workers in Australia.
A heavily redacted Freedom Of Information request has revealed the Strategic Partnering Agreement between Australia and Naval Group says Australian workers in France will count as Australian industry expenditure.
The version of the SPA that has been made public, however, does not reveal how much the penalties to Naval Group are if they do not meet that local content requirement. Are these penalties able to just be absorbed into the contractor’s costs of doing business?
How many other exemptions, exclusions and allowances have been included in this agreement that have not been made public?
If the Government hadn’t rushed to sign the original contract and had included enforceable Australian industry content provisions from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in the position of needing to renegotiate this agreement.
The Government has completely mismanaged the Future Submarines program from the beginning.
It is now running 10 years late and $40 billion over budget at $89 billion – the largest procurement in Australia’s history.
They like to talk tough on Defence, but the Morrison Government’s rhetoric fails to match the reality, which is cuts to the Defence capital expenditure budget, cost blowouts on mismanaged projects and a failure to deliver the major projects we need to defend our nation.
Labor wants to see the Future Submarines delivered on time, on budget with jobs given to workers in Australia.