LYNDAL CURTIS: Penny Wong, welcome to Capital Hill.
SENATOR PENNY WONG, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE: Good to be with you.
CURTIS: If Australia buys submarines off the shelf from another country, that doesnt necessarily mean, does it, that they are not assembled in some form in Australia, particularly in South Australia?
WONG: Lets remember what Tony Abbott promised before the election: his Minister, David Johnston, said we will deliver those submarines from right here at ASC in South Australia. They committed to building twelve submarines in Adelaide.
We now see public discussion, which the Government hasnt refuted, that the submarines will be purchased directly from Japan. Now, that will have a huge implication for jobs, and capacity and skills in South Australia, and for our naval capability more generally.
CURTIS: But again does it necessarily mean that they will be not only bought from overseas but assembled from overseas? Couldnt there still be, because it doesnt appear the final decision has been made, some component assembled in Australia?
WONG: This is a hypothetical because the Government wont tell us what their real plans are. The only thing they are clearly doing is walking away from their commitment and this is turning into another Tony Abbott lie. A lie to South Australians before the election when the Liberal Party made very clear that they would match the Labor Partys commitment to building the next generation of submarines in South Australia.
What have we seen since then? Weve seen the Defence Minister refuse to repeat that commitment in the Senate, Tony Abbott ducking and weaving and in fact going further, going to Adelaide and saying we need to be making this decision on a different basis, and the Government refusing to refute what is on the front of the South Australian paper, the Advertiser, today.
CURTIS: But even Labors commitment wasnt design and build in Australia, it was just build in Australia wasnt it? Which means it could have been a plan off the shelf from overseas that is then built in Australia.
WONG: We looked at the option to design and build, we also looked at modified off the shelf, which would include some design function in Australia. But the point is, this Government made a really clear commitment to South Australians, a really clear commitment and theyre walking away from it.
And this comes on top of the Treasurer goading Holden to leave, which they did; manufacturing being under pressure in South Australia and across the nation. This is a Government that doesnt appear to care about manufacturing jobs or South Australian jobs.
CURTIS: But this is an enormous defence spend.
WONG: It is.
CURTIS: Isnt it incumbent on the Government to get the best capability it can for the Navy at the best price for the taxpayer?
WONG: I have more confidence in our capacity, our workers and our military here than apparently the Government does. I mean, Christopher Pyne himself today, said on television, he said the ASC has a great record of building submarines, so hes confident about their capability. I think the issue here is the Government made a very clear commitment it wants to walk away from and its not being upfront with South Australians about that.
CURTIS: What do you think should be the outcome, be it an off the shelf design from overseas assembled here or some design component here as well?
WONG: What I think is, the Government should, do what it hasnt done on so many occasions, and that is do what it said it would do before the election. But I think theres a broader issue for my home state and manufacturing generally, particularly as the auto industry leaves. We do need a manufacturing capability in Australia, we do need advanced engineering, advanced manufacturing capacity in our nation. And the defence industry is one place where we can ensure those skills remain and we can continue to build on those skills. We cant just allow that capability to walk offshore.
CURTIS: But the defence industry does have to be able to deliver, doesnt it? David Johnston, the Defence Minister, has given a number of speeches where he has warned the defence industry has to deliver or it risks losing contracts.
WONG: Of course it has to deliver, which is why we worked so hard in Government to improve the way in which the Collins Class is maintained and to improve availability. And full credit to ASC, I think they made real changes, the Australian Submarine Corporation, they made changes, the workers made changes, management made changes and you saw the benefits in terms of availability.
But what you shouldnt have is a Defence Minister who is prepared to go down and fly the flag at the keel laying of one of the Air Warfare Destroyers, then denigrating the same shipyard because it suits his political purpose to walk away from a commitment. Mr Abbott made a very clear commitment. And Ill tell you what: perhaps some of the South Australians in the Liberal Party could start stand up for their state, in the way that Senator Minchin used to and in the way that Senator Vanstone used to. Its quite clear that Christopher Pyne is more interested in Canberra games than South Australian jobs.
CURTIS: It is though quite possible that an off the shelf and assembled overseas submarine would need to be both sustained and maintained in Australia and that could be a role that the South Australian shipyards could have.
WONG: Thats an argument for Mr Abbott to put but thats not what he told South Australians before the election. Thats not what he said.
CURTIS: Penny Wong, thank you very much for your time.
WONG: Thank you.
ENDS