Doorstop: Australian Shipbuilding

The truth has come out in the Senate Inquiry into naval shipbuilding on Friday. The truth is this; despite Christopher Pyne and the Government’s assurances that they would maximise Australian workers in the Future Frigates program, it has now come clear that the three tenderers are not required to actually use Australian workers- this is an absolute travesty. What we know is despite the government’s promises that shipbuilding is having its heyday here in Australia, we now know that after 2019 there is no guarantee for Australian workers in the shipbuilding industry. This is particularly concerning for my electorate of Kingston in South Australia. There is no point in having a Defence Industries Minister if he can’t deliver any jobs for South Australia. But this completely means Australians have been misled on Australian jobs coming out of shipbuilding and it is time the Government actually tells the truth on this. Bill Shorten has now written to Malcolm Turnbull saying this is incredibly concerning and demanding him to guarantee shipbuilding jobs in Australia. It is now time for the Government to contradict its Defence officials who clearly said there were no requirements for Australian jobs, it is now time for the Government to come out and actually ensure Australian jobs are maximised in shipbuilding.

 

JOURNALIST: Is there anything you can do in the parliament for this?

RISHWORTH: We are obviously going through a Senate Inquiry and we are going to continue to urge Malcolm Turnbull and Christopher Pyne to be held to account. We know it clearly states in the Coalition’s own Defence White Paper that there will be a maximisation of jobs in Australia and now we hear from Defence officials that say there is no requirement whatsoever for the three designers that are putting in tenders to actually employ Australians. This is really outrageous and shows that the Government have been misleading the Australian people.

JOURNALIST: How concerning is it for Labor to see Mr. Shorten’s approval ratings slipping in the Ipsos poll?

RISHWORTH: Of course being Opposition Leader is a tough gig but I am really really proud that I stand behind a leader that is not being a small target; he is coming out with strong policies from Opposition to make Australia a fairer place. Policies like ensuring large companies do not get a tax break whilst individual working Australian’s get tax hikes, this is the type of policy that is about making Australia fairer and I am proud that Bill Shorten is not being a small target and being a strong Opposition Leader. This is very very distinct from Malcolm Turnbull who can’t make a decision on anything; sits on his hands for four years about energy prices just watching them go up and up for Australians. And, also of course is too gutless to come out and really talk about his position on marriage equality. All these things are things that Malcolm Turnbull used to believe in but now he does nothing because he is too interested in keeping his own job.