Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled an entry-level recruitment program for work on nuclear-powered submarines in a bid to meet the mammoth skilled workforce required.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled an entry-level recruitment program for work on nuclear-powered submarines in a bid to meet the mammoth skilled workforce required.
The country’s nuclear-powered submarine endeavour is expected to support 20,000 jobs nationwide and 3,000 in Western Australia over three decades, as a key part of the Aukus security agreement between Australia, the US and the UK.
While visiting the West today, the Prime Minister announced a ‘Jobs for Subs’ program creating 200 graduate, apprenticeship and trainee roles to work on nuclear-powered submarines. Majority of the roles will be for young Western Australians.
Shipbuilder ASC will be supported to hire an additional 200 entry-level workers over the course of the next two years in what is understood to be a multi-million-dollar federal government-backed recruitment program.
The roles- covering fabrication and machining, engineering and project management, and supply chain and operations qualifications- will support the maintenance of Aukus partners’ nuclear-powered submarines which will be increasing docking at HMAS Stirling.
“This is an opportunity for Australia that we must seize,” Mr Albanese said standing against a background of the USS Hawaii nuclear-powered submarine at HMAS Stirling.
“This is about, as an island continent, making sure that our national security is looked after but at the same time, we see this as a part of a future made in Australia, that agenda that says we can make things here.
“We can have highly qualified people trained to fill high paid, high value jobs, and today's announcement is just the next step in ensuring that happens in the future.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles could not be drawn on a dollar value for the program, but said it was “a big number” but in the context of the Aukus spend it "wasn’t massive".
The federal government has commitment $8 billion towards infrastructure for Submarine Rotational Force – West (SRF-West) at HMAS Striling, the Royal Australian Navy base on Garden Island.
From 2027, nuclear-powered submarines owned by the Aukus partners will have an increasing rotational presence at HMAS Stirling to be known as SRF-West.
During that period, Australia will get its operational capability and skills up to scratch ahead of operating its own Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine fleet from the early 2030s.
Australia is expected to acquire at least three Virgina-class submarines from the US, ahead of building its own in South Australia.
The USS Hawaii- a US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine- and maintenance ship USS Emory S. Land are currently docked at HMAS Stirling for a tendered maintenance period.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles at HMAS Stirling. Photo: Michael O'Brien.
It marks the first time Australian personnel are working directly on a nuclear-powered submarine in the country, alongside US crew, and the first time an American nuclear-powered submarine has received maintenance outside of US territory.
Speaking in front of the submarine and maintenance ship, Mr Marles said this was a critical step in the journey of acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine capability.
“What we need to be able to do is to be able to maintain nuclear powered submarines here in Western Australia, both American and Australian flagged Virginia-class submarines, and in time, our own Australian built submarines,” he said.
“When we look at that maintenance journey, it starts here with the maintenance on the USS Hawaii.
“That is why this is such an important step forward. It is the major event in the Aukus calendar this year.”
When asked whether the maintenance period involved the removal of low-level nuclear waste, Mr Marles said no, and elaborated that there was no radiological material actively being worked on as part of the maintenance period.
“Obviously, there is no nuclear material coming off the submarines as there never will be," he said.
"Even the low-level nuclear waste, the kind of thing [like] gloves and wipes that you would see in our universities and our hospitals around the country, not even that is occurring in relation to this particular maintenance period."
Mr Marles said there was an ability to deal with low-level nuclear waste at HMAS Stirling in the short-term, but that the government would be “looking at options” for the medium-to-longer term.
“I'll just point out so there is no conflation here, the high-level nuclear waste that is the nuclear reactors, we have committed to dealing with those, but we don't need to deal with those until the early 2050s,” he said.
The Aukus deal requires Australia to domestically store and dispose of low and high-level nuclear waste generated from both acquired and locally built nuclear-powered submarines.
A licence has been approved for the preparation of a low-level radioactive waste facility at HMAS Stirling, which would be the first step in a series of approvals needed.
But a question mark looms over where high-level nuclear waste will be stored and disposed of in Australia, with a decision yet to be made by the federal government.
High-level radioactive material would be generated from an Aukus submarine's nuclear reactor when decommissioned at the end of its life, not expected to come into the equation until the 2050s.
Mr Marles said there was “absolutely issues around dealing with nuclear waste” but it was low-level nuclear waste that would need to be dealt with in the short-term.
He said a decision around the longer term wasn’t required until the 2050s.
“It is low level nuclear waste that we are talking about in the short term, and we are well capable of dealing with and that is not unprecedented, in the sense of that material is being dealt with around the country, literally each and every day,” Mr Marles said.
“We've made clear that in terms of the high-level nuclear waste, we will announce a means by which we will determine a site shortly, that is not to say we are determining a site shortly, [we are] determining the process for that.”
