MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Ms MASCARENHAS (Swan) (15:58): Peace and stability, technology sharing arrangements—yes, I am indeed talking about AUKUS. I thank the member for Wentworth for raising this matter. Scrutiny of a program that is this significant, a program that represents the single biggest industrial project in Australia's history, is exactly what this parliament is for, so I will be direct about where this project stands and what its delivering.

Australia is operating in the most complex and contested geopolitical environment since World War II. We all remember when Russia illegally and immorally invaded Ukraine. Australians felt the impact of that war.

Then we saw the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the immense suffering. Every life matters—Palestinians and Israelis—in particular civilians, including women and children. Now we have the recent events in the Middle East that have disrupted global fuel supply chains and reminded us how much Australia depends on open sea lanes and stable trade routes.

Peace and stability are good for humankind and are good for nations. In that environment, AUKUS represents a fundamental shift in Australia's Defence capability—the single biggest increase in our military capability since the establishment of the Navy more than a century ago. I also think that it needs to be stressed that AUKUS is not an alliance; it's a technology-sharing partnership.

This is about building our capability, from design to building to actually operating these submarines. The question before us today is whether this government is fundamentally being transparent about the program that's being delivered. I will address this now.

This government established the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence so that parliament can be briefed and scrutinised on classified Defence matters in a secure setting. Of course, the AUKUS program is subject to Senate estimates through the scrutiny process. This combination of transparency and accountability mechanisms has been built into the program from the start.

Now let me turn to the delivery, because the most substantive answer to these questions about transparency is the clear account of where this program stands. At HMAS Stirling, south of Perth, we have seen visits from nuclear powered submarines with increasing complexity in every maintenance package. In 2024, the USS Vermont arrived at Stirling and received a significant package of maintenance work carried out by Australian workers.

Earlier this year HMS Anson, a UK Astute class submarine, docked at Stirling and received significant maintenance. Australian workers are maintaining allied nuclear powered submarines in Western Australia right now. This is a capability this country did not have four years ago.

The Submarine Rotational Force-West is on track to be stood up from the end of next year. From 2027, 500 direct jobs will support the sustainment of nuclear powered submarines at Stirling. The government is investing $8 billion to expand HMAS Stirling, creating around 3,000 direct construction and infrastructure jobs for Western Australians.

At Henderson, $12 billion has been committed as the first major down payment on what will be a $25 billion Defence precinct, underpinning continuous naval shipbuilding in WA for decades to come. Western Australian companies, VEEM and Camco among them, have already qualified for AUKUS nuclear powered submarine supply chains under the Defence Industry Vendor Qualification Program.

The Jobs for Subs program is recruiting and upskilling over 200 new entry-level positions through ASC. Through the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Student Pathways program, Commonwealth supported places have been allocated as follows: 320 to Curtin University, 56 places to the University of Western Australia and 50 places to Murdoch University. This will be building a pipeline of skilled West Australians into this program that will be needed.

Across the country, AUKUS will create around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years. Yes, it's very exciting! In WA, at Stirling and Henderson and across the supply chain, the Defence industry is on track to provide 10,000 jobs—the biggest diversification in WA ever.