New investments in defence industries will offer a never-ending source of engineering-intensive work for South Australia, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has said.
At a recent Engineers Australia event in Adelaide, Mr Pyne said the federal government’s investment in defence industries in SA is unprecedented and will continue to offer opportunities for engineers.
Mr Pyne also spoke with South Australian EA members and defence industry leaders, such as CEO of BAE Systems Glynn Phillips and Mark Lamarre, CEO of ASC Shipbuilding.
Mr Pyne touched on South Australia's capabilities, saying the state's Defence Industry is "easily the best in the country”.
Mr Pyne went on to say that he expects there to never be a time in South Australia’s future that shipbuilding won’t be required.
The Minister mentioned that the government will be making an effort to support universities and TAFEs coordinated by the Naval Shipbuilding College.
Mr Pyne said naval ship building contracts in SA can be secured for the next 100 years and stressed the need for support from TAFEs and universities to equip workers with the appropriate skills.
Construction for the billion-dollar upgrade of the naval shipbuilding facility in South Australia’s Osborne South is expected to start in late August.
Policy highlights this week
Mr Pyne was just one of many political leaders engaged with the work of Engineers Australia.
Here are some highlights from recent engagement with governments, promoting the interests of a strong engineering profession:
- Engineers Australia CEO, Peter McIntyre, represented the profession at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council stakeholder forum.
- The National Committee for Water Engineering met with the Productivity Commission to advise on its review of national water reform.
- The Risk Engineering Society led the submission of advice to a federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development Guidance Note for Probabilistic Contingency Estimation.
- A resource has been developed to explain the benefits of registration for engineers to governments around the country.
- In Queensland, we held a Boardroom lunch with the Assistant Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Glenn Butcher MP, and held the annual Engineers in Parliament event.
- In the ACT, the association continues to push the territory Government to stick to its commitment to introduce a Chief Engineer for the ACT.
- On the Apple Isle, the Minister for State Growth, Matthew Groom MP, launched Engineers Australia’s Tasmanian Engineering Workforce Development Plan, and the EA President was guest speaker at the Tasmanian Engineering Meets Parliament.
- On the west coast, Engineers Australia is pushing for the creation of an infrastructure advisory agency and hosted a discussion on this, with speakers from the WA Department of Premier and Cabinet and an Infrastructure Australia Board member.