A re-elected WA Labor government will spend $11 million to incentivise working in the state’s burgeoning defence industry to help fill the 10,000 jobs tipped to be created.
A re-elected WA Labor government will spend $11 million to incentivise working in the state’s burgeoning defence industry to help fill the 10,000 jobs tipped to be created.
WA Labor leader Roger Cook announced his party would establish an Aukus defence industry incentive scheme to train and skill-up workers for the forested job boom over the next two decades as nuclear submarines begin their rotational presence and shipbuilding activites ramp up.
Speaking in Henderson, the soon-to-be “engine room of our defence industries in WA”, Mr Cook outlined the series of incentives to attract workers into the industry expected to create 10,000 new jobs.
Under the $11.5 million scheme, $3 million would go towards funding training places at TAFE alongside extra lecturers and specialist equipment.
Employers in the defence industry would be able to access $20,000 grants to take on apprentices, with $8.5 million allocated towards that incentive.
Should the party be re-elected on March 8, it would also establish a $2 million ‘readiness fund’ to support local small to medium businesses, of which there are 238 directly involved in the defence industry in the state, according to WA Labor.
That fund would be focused on helping those businesses comply with the strict defence protocols and Aukus security restrictions to ensure they can compete for contracts.
Defence Industry Minister Paul Papalia said it was a challenging industry for small businesses to meet the security and other demands of the defence sector.
“We're going to assist them and provide a $2 million package to enable small businesses to get defence ready, to meet the requirements of the Defence Industry Security Program and other demands…to ensure they can get into the supply chain for Aukus, but also for other defence matters right around the country,” he said.
“Western Australia will be at the forefront of our sovereign defence capability build, and we're going to help them and help our industry get there.”
Mr Papalia also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the WA Liberals, describing the party as “absolutely negligent” in building WA’s defence industry.
“Before we came to office, nothing had been done to argue the case for Western Australia's defence industry. We have changed that,” he said.
“The last eight years have seen us fight constantly to elevate Western Australia and the capability of our defence industry in the minds of the decision makers on the East Coast.”
The party also detailed what it considered ‘priority industry roles’, listing combat systems engineers, automation, robotics and mechatronics engineers alongside electrical, electronics, industrial, mechanical, software, structural and composite fabrication engineers.
Drafters, welders, scaffolders, riggers, crane operators and fitters, and cyber security specialists are also being considered key roles for the growing sector.
Today’s commitments align with WA Labor’s defence industry strategy through to 2040, as the local sector prepares to house and service the nation’s future nuclear fleet.
Under the trilateral Aukus agreement, nuclear submarines from the US will be stationed on a rotational basis at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island from 2027.
