Minehunter Project
MINEHUNTER PROJECT
Mr GAUDRY (Newcastle) [6.02]: Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the impressive keel laying of the third Huon-class minehunter at Australian Defence Industries Carrington shipyard. It was an impressive affair. The fact that the laying of the third keel is on time and within budget is an indication of the dedication of both the workers and management at ADI and shows the advances in ship design and technology carried out on that site. When ADI made the decision to be one of the three tenderers for the minehunter project, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Merv Church, the program manager, and Mr Ken Harris, the managing director. I was very impressed with their commitment to Newcastle and to New South Wales in that they said that if they won the tender they would build in Newcastle and bring the highest level of local content to that production.
I was impressed yesterday when listening to Mr Russell Fynmore, Chairman of ADI, detail the content being brought to that project from New South Wales businesses. In fact, ADI is delivering 76 per cent of Australian industry involvement with a 60 per cent minimum local content requirement. More than 900 businesses in New South Wales are contributing to the building of the Huon-class minehunters and almost 600 of those businesses are based in the Hunter region. The project will be worth half a billion dollars to New South Wales and $250 million to the Hunter region. Those figures include the value of the contracts and the work generated by them, so it is a very significant project.
The fact that the project is being completed with such a high involvement of New South Wales and Hunter businesses means a great boon for the region, not only for the employment and training it generates but also for the involvement of high technology. The use of glass reinforced plastic technology will have other applications in industry in the Hunter and elsewhere in New South Wales industry, such as the development of components for housing, for heavy industry and, as was suggested at the launch, for offshore platforms. I was impressed to find that the glass reinforced plastic used is more durable and stronger than steel.
The level of commitment of the highly skilled work force was very evident. On-site training is going on all the time. To emphasise the technology involved in the Huon-class minehunter, the advance systems on board the ships include combat systems, which incorporate five multifunction tactical data system consoles, a variable depth sonar system, an electro-optical surveillance system and electronic countermeasures. I noted that the highly
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sophisticated nature of the work involved in the development of those systems and the application of that work to other areas of industry in the Hunter.
Mr Blackmore: Mighty workmanship.
Mr GAUDRY: As the honourable member for Maitland says, and I am sure the Minister for Gaming and Racing would agree, it is a great tribute to the level of skill and expertise involved in the Hunter. We had the opportunity to look over the ships in production. The mould for the first minehunter was prepared and constructed in Italy to give our workers the opportunity to learn the skills. The second mould is to the stage where it is being outfitted, and as I said, yesterday we saw the first piece of fibreglass laid down. The launch was commenced by Vice-Admiral Rod Taylor. [Time expired.]
Mr FACE (Charlestown - Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development) [6.07]: I congratulate the honourable member for Newcastle and Newcastle generally on what Australian Defence Industries has been able to achieve since it established in the Hunter region. Something to be gleaned from the contribution by the honourable member for Newcastle is that the production is on time and within budget. This contract has had great offsetting effects on Newcastle and its economy. The employment this important contract has created and the long-term expansion through available technology of the skills base that already existed in the region has been of immense value to that city. Newcastle is an industrial city that, during my childhood, did not enjoy an enviable industrial relations work record. It is true to say that in the early 1970s sanity prevailed. Unions, employers and the like got together and now the industrial workplace agreements in the Hunter region are the envy of many other parts of Australia. It has been the catalyst for many of the important contracts secured in the region in recent years.
The contract is for half a billion dollars, but no-one can estimate the offsets that have been made available in this high-tech area. The fact that the work will be completed on time and within budget was taken into account by Australian Defence Industries when it established in Newcastle, and it is one of the things we are looking forward to in respect of the lead fighter contract. The Government has put its money where its mouth is. As Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development I attempted to ensure that there were no hurdles or obstacles to the contract coming to Newcastle, and it now appears that the contract will come to the Hunter. [Time expired.]