Inquiry into Naval Shipbuilding in Australia
ATSE believes a viable naval shipbuilding industry is possible in Australia based on past performance (ASC, Tenix etc.) and potential future demand.
ATSE believes a viable naval shipbuilding industry is possible in Australia based on past performance (ASC, Tenix etc.) and potential future demand. It is one of the types of high-technology, high-skill high-value industries that the country needs to foster. Industries such as this provide flow-on effects to the community at large, through fostering skills acquisition and sophisticated suppliers that are able to be employed beneficially in other areas of the economy.
Australia would benefit greatly from a domestic naval shipbuilding industry due to the –
- defence capability this would bring
- contribution such a facility would make to skills development and maintenance at all levels, with spill-over benefits to other sectors
- support it would give to high technology suppliers of goods and services which would benefit other Australian industries
- stimulus it would provide for research in advanced materials, electronics, communications and related fields
- favourable impact, direct and indirect, it would have on the present unfavourable trade balance in elaborately transformed manufactures.
To underpin a viable industry consideration needs to be given to changing the approach to naval vessel procurement, to aim at a continuous-build program rather than intermittent orders. This might need a change in approach to policy by the Australian Government, selling ships after about a 20-year service life rather than the present approach of planning a major mid-life refit and scrapping them after 30-40 years.
Full comments are contained in the attached submission.
