Thursday, November 7, 2024

Cockburn left high and dry by Defence review recommendations

WA’s City of Cockburn Council says it’s frustrated with the Federal Government’s failure to confirm details of a large-vessel dry berth for Henderson as part of its recommendations from the Defence Strategic Review, which was released on Monday.

Council says the review made a strong case for the dry berth infrastructure, calling it a “critical enabler” for naval shipbuilding.

“Perplexingly, there is no acknowledgement or agreement to this recommendation in the Government’s release,” Council said in a statement.

The Henderson shipbuilding precinct is home to Australia’s largest marine industry and Cockburn is poised to become a major national and global centre for shipbuilding and maritime defence following last month’s AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pathway announcement.

Cockburn Mayor, Logan Howlett said the absence of a commitment to a dry berth promised by the previous Federal Government threatened to severely impact the crucial evolution of Henderson in its critical role to support the future of the Australian Defence Force.

“The City of Cockburn is home to five of WA’s most successful industrial and commercial hubs, with everything from defence to manufacturing,” the Mayor said.

“Latitude 32, one of Australia’s largest industrial zones and logistics hubs, complemented by the Bibra Lake Industrial Precinct, Cockburn Central, a strategic regional centre in the southern part of Perth and Jandakot City, one of Australia’s busiest airfields and its largest aviation training base. This powerhouse of industry and commerce is best positioned to meet supply chain needs for the defence and shipbuilding industries.

“At its peak, building and sustaining US, UK and sovereign nuclear-powered submarines will create up to 8,500 direct jobs in the industrial workforce,” he said.

An additional 500 direct jobs are expected to be created to sustain the US and UK rotational presence between 2027-2032 in WA.

“Even before the AUKUS announcement, by 2041 right here in Henderson, we are expecting $2.7 billion additional investment in shipbuilding infrastructure,” said Mayor Howlett.

“We expect 70 defence vessels to be built or upgraded, along with $45 billion in shipbuilding orders in WA by 2040 creating 4,500 additional ship construction jobs in WA by 2030.

“These major opportunities which will benefit both Western Australia and the nation will not be able to be achieved without the addition of a dry berth and strategic road upgrades,” he said.

The east coast facility for the submarines is one of 13 recommendations from the review that have been agreed only “in principle” by the Federal Government.

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