South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, says the state has a “massive task ahead” after it was confirmed as the future construction base of Australia’s first nuclear-powered submarines.
Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, today confirmed the next-generation nuclear-powered submarines will be built at Osborne in South Australia.
“This historic announcement is a unique opportunity for South Australia, which will deliver jobs and benefit the economy for generations to come,” Mr Marles said.
“South Australian industry will see a major capability and capacity uplift as it takes its place at the forefront of one of Australia’s greatest industrial undertakings.”
Mr Marles estimated an investment in South Australia of $2 billion over the Forward Estimates.
The Submarine Construction Yard created for the build of the next-generation nuclear-powered submarines will be almost three times larger than the yard forecast for the Attack class program.
“The significance of this moment cannot be overstated,” said SA Premier Malinauskas.
“The AUKUS submarines will be the most complex machines that have ever been built in human history. And they will be built here in South Australia.
“But it is not just the thousands of workers to be employed at Osborne who will benefit.
“This is a transformational opportunity to increase our economic complexity.
“That means more highly skilled, highly paid jobs across our economy that will help lift the standard of living for generations of South Australians.
“We now have a massive task ahead of us to prepare the highly skilled workforce to capitalise on this historic opportunity.”
At its peak, it’s estimated up to 4,000 workers will be employed to design and build the infrastructure for the Submarine Construction Yard in Osborne.
A further 4,000 to 5,500 direct shipyard jobs are expected to be created to build nuclear-powered submarines in South Australia when the program reaches its peak – almost double the workforce forecast by the former Government for the Attack class program.
“The Albanese Government will continue to work with the South Australian Government through the Commonwealth South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Taskforce to deliver this multi-generational opportunity for South Australia,” the Deputy PM said today.
Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy described the AUKUS deal as “the greatest industrial undertaking ever for Australia”.
“It will be transformative for South Australian industry,” he said.
“There will be thousands of direct jobs in constructing the shipyard and building the submarines, but also significant opportunities in the supply chains, not only of Australia, but of the United States and United Kingdom.”
