Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has failed to secure the future of the shipbuilding industry despite countless claims by the Coalition that it has a vision for Australia's future Defence needs.
As 31 more jobs are lost at BAE's Osborne shipyard, Mr Pyne's claims in October 2017 that the shipbuilding 'Valley of Death' was over under his watch are revealed as nothing more than hollow words and political spin.
The Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions, (ASFU) which represents shipbuilding workers is seeking urgent talks with BAE as our shipbuilding skill base is further eroded by yet another round of redundancies.
"You would think that in an election year with the Coalition on the brink, that this Minister would have the nous to see the long-term benefits of making sure shipbuilders were not being laid off," said AMWU Assistant National Secretary and convenor of the ASFU Glenn Thompson.
"But Christopher Pyne isn't interested in saving the jobs of South Australian shipbuilders. He's only interested in saving his own job," Mr Thompson said.
Mr Thompson said Christopher Pyne should be taking decisive action to secure the jobs and skills of those shipbuilding workers still in the industry.
"But that's not a priority for the Liberals. This is the party that so mismanaged the auto industry that the global car makers pulled out, leaving South Australia with a major unemployment problem," he said.
"Pyne and his mates have let down our shipbuilders, they have let down the people of South Australia. The Minister needs to take action immediately and bring forward the continuous build of new vessels."
Mr Thompson said the tragedy of this latest round of job losses is that Australia is about to embark on the largest Defence procurement program in our history with new submarine and frigate programs now in the planning stages.
"Who does Christopher Pyne think is going to build our future naval vessels? The Hunter Class frigates' program will begin construction in 2020 with a huge and on-going requirement for skilled workers. For every skilled worker who leaves the industry now, another new entrant will have to be recruited and trained to take their place. That takes time and will incur extra costs. It would be far easier to invest the money now and keep skilled shipbuilders on the job."
"If Christopher Pyne thinks the loss of skilled jobs isn't a major problem then he deserves to lose his job as well because he has clearly failed the shipbuilding industry."
"Australia is an island nation, a maritime nation, and what we need at a time like this is to give our service men and women in the RAN the best ships and equipment."
"Pyne claimed he was a "Fixer,' but he has fixed nothing. Any realistic assessment of his tenure in the Defence portfolios would conclude he was a Minister who could have done great work to secure our sovereign shipbuilding capability."
