Senator GALLACHER (South Australia) (23:18): Tonight, I take great pleasure in rising to speak about the defence sector in South Australia. Over the last couple of decades, South Australia has positioned itself as the defence procurement capital of Australia. The defence footprint in South Australia is substantial. There are over 25,000 direct and indirect employees and the industry turns over about $1.4 billion annually. This has had much to do with the South Australian government working with defence companies to set up facilities to provide the nation with exceptional defence procurements. Major companies have utilised South Australia's positioning by setting up their national headquarters in Adelaide. It is important to note that these companies are in close proximity to important defence facilities such as the Air Warfare Destroyer Systems Centre and RAAF Base Edinburgh, home of the 7RAR Battalion and significant numbers of Air Force personnel. More than 1,300 Defence Science and Technology Organisation scientists are based in South Australia. Then there is the Port Wakefield Proof and Experimental Test Range, the Woomera prohibited area and the Cultana training area. On behalf of the great state of South Australia—and with a bit of indulgence—I say to many defence companies out there that South Australia is the right place for your business. I firmly believe that defence companies not investing in South Australia should consider doing so because of the high level of committed support that they are likely to receive from the state government. This was highlighted recently by Defence SA CEO Andrew Fletcher making clear that the state is working professionally in looking at facilities viable for the long term. This will be of benefit not only to the state but also to the nation by maximising the skilled workforce operating in state-of-the-art facilities while tapping into existing extensive supply chains. The forward planning by the South Australian Labor government has enabled progress on a positive trajectory. Projections suggest that South Australia's defence sector will directly and indirectly employ 30,000 workers by 2013-14, well above the strategic plan objectives of 28,000. The South Australian government has said that we must not stop there; that we must go further. In the strategic plan released in September of this year, one of the objectives highlighted is the employment of 37,000 people by 2020 by the defence sector directly and indirectly. The future growth will come from our strong foundation in delivering world class defence projects complemented by outstanding scientific research and education institutions which allow South Australia to be focused on the future. The state government, Defence SA and the Defence SA advisory board, led by General Peter Cosgrove, are focused on manufacturing and the support of naval ship and submarine building, systems engineering, aerospace components and military vehicle support and manufacturing. Our future will be determined by greater efficiencies. The state government has put weight into these developments by investing in strategic infrastructure. I am sure that the Senate is well aware of Techport Australia, the nation's leading ship-building precinct, which incorporates a common-user facility, a supplier precinct, a commercial precinct and an on-site maritime skills sector. I cannot forget to mention Technology Park Adelaide and the Edinburgh Defence Precinct, both of which are also vital facilities for our defence sector. A recent article in the Adelaide Advertiser about Defence SA stated that it was considering creating a hub for manufacturing, integration and maintenance of military vehicles. This shows that Defence SA, the state Labor government and the defence companies are constantly looking at options that can provide long-term solutions for the defence of our nation. Proudly speaking about the strong position that South Australia has attained, I cannot fail to mention the contracts that have been the very reason for our success. As they say, the past is the best judge of the future. Firstly, I would like to mention the assembling of the Collins class submarines. Multibillion-dollar support over the lifetime of the fleet is provided by ASC in South Australia. The current fleet of Collins class submarines will be replaced by 12 superior submarines, according to the 2009 defence white paper. Chapter 9 of that white paper says: The Government has decided to acquire 12 new Future Submarines, to be assembled in South Australia. This will be a major design and construction program spanning three decades, and will be Australia's largest ever single defence project. Indeed, there is no better place to build the future fleet than in South Australia. South Australia has the capability to assemble a new fleet and give lifetime support to the current and future fleet. Importantly, assembling the new submarines here will be more beneficial than buying the standard off-the-shelf submarines. The Minister for Defence Materiel, Minister Clare, has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the former Premier of South Australia Mike Rann, setting land at Techport Australia's common-user facility aside for the future submarine project. Minister Clare stated that Australia has a well-deserved reputation as a defence state. It is the home of the submarine maintenance and air warfare destroyer projects. It is also where the next generation of submarines will be assembled. This shows that we can utilise new facilities that will provide a competitive advantage for the contractors assembling and maintaining our defence facilities. This agreement is another example of ex-Premier Rann thinking ahead. It is because of decisions like this that South Australia now punches above its weight when it comes to defence. The air warfare destroyer is a prime example of the benefits South Australia has by having a central facility such as Techport Australia. The $8 billion project will result in direct spending in South Australia of about $2.3 billion, with much of the work taking place at Techport Australia at the ASC shipyard, AWD Systems Centre, Raytheon Australia's SA engineering centre, and through local suppliers for the steel fabrication of items like pipe work, ventilation trunking, combat systems equipment and a whole range of services to the project, according to Defence SA. It is well understood that automotive manufacturing has been led by South Australia for many decades. But we often forget about our well-established military vehicle engineering and manufacturing expertise. This is also significantly boosted with our small to medium enterprises contributing with fabrication, production and maintenance capabilities. Over the last decade, South Australian companies have produced more military vehicles than any other state, which is a fantastic achievement for one of the smaller states of Australia. There is good reason that South Australia continues to be a hub for military vehicle development. The M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers are being produced in South Australia, as is the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle, the ASLAV, and the through-life support of the ASLAV is ongoing. These two vehicles, produced by BAE Systems Australia and General Dynamics Land Systems Australia, are the nation's only two fighting-vehicle programs. These two operations account for the employment of hundreds of South Australians, but this does not account for the many hundreds of jobs in key small and medium enterprises in the supply chains. So South Australia's success is quite evident. I am confident that the current cooperation between the state government and the defence corporations will continue, as these initiatives are in the nation's best interests as well as South Australia's. Finally, I would like to congratulate all those who have been involved and have made South Australia the defence procurement capital of Australia.