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Category: Manufacturing / Steel / Defence Industry / Defence and National Security

Whyalla's shipbuilding history could be revived

Monday, 22 Feb 2016 05:33:16

Defence manufacturing projects for Whyalla are being explored. (Commonwealth of Australia: Navy Imagery Unit)

Defence projects using Australian steel and workers could provide the struggling South Australian town of Whyalla with thousands of jobs but the state is waiting for the Federal Government to make announcements.

German shipbuilder TKMS will send a team to Whyalla today to assess its suitability for building navy vessels, army vehicles and to possibly include the city in its bid for Australia's future submarine contract.

The trip comes just days after Arrium announced its Whyalla steelworks could be mothballed, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk.

South Australian Defence Industries Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith said it made sense to consider incorporating Whyalla in the bid, as TKMS had a proven track record of shipbuilding.

"What we need are decisions from Canberra and we need them quickly," he said.

"It's good that TKMS are going up there to scope the opportunities.

"I know each of the three bidders have looked around at South Australia's industry capabilities as part of their bids for the submarines and the offshore patrol vessel work could start as soon as 2018.

"A lot of the steel cutting, a lot of the subcontracting will need to be let out to other South Australian companies.

Mr Hamilton-Smith said there was $89 billion worth of work tied up in building the new submarines.

"A lot of that work could be done here - including at Whyalla, Port Augusta, Port Pirie and the Upper Spencer Gulf - it's got a proven track record of success in manufacturing," he said.

Whyalla produced ships during World War II and the shipyards operated until 1978.

He said another possible Defence project included armoured troop vehicles.

"This work is vital for the future of the state," he said.

"We don't want to be in the business of building submarines or combat vehicles overseas in somebody else's country using Australian taxpayers' money to create jobs in another country.

Three overseas bidders, companies from Germany, France and Japan, are competing in a competitive evaluation process to building Australia's next submarine fleet.

AustraliaPlus


 

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