The Morrison Government is investing $124 million in two new Evolved Cape Class patrol boats from Austal in WA to continue its commitment to keeping our borders secure and supporting Australian defence industry and jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This additional acquisition will support the continued employment opportunities for around 400 direct jobs and a further 150 jobs across small and medium businesses in Austal\u2019s supply chain, already established under the previous six Evolved Cape Class patrol boats. The new boats bring the total investment in industry for the Evolved Cape Class patrol boats to more than $440 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Coalition Government\u2019s plan for a strong economy would strengthen WA\u2019s shipbuilding workforce and support the work of the Navy and Australian Border Force (ABF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis investment doesn\u2019t just help secure our borders, it secures hundreds of shipbuilding jobs in Western Australia,\u201d the Prime Minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKeeping our borders safe is a key priority for my Government, and the acquisition of two more Evolved Cape Class patrol boats will boost the capability of Navy\u2019s patrol force to ensure it is available where and when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy Government\u2019s record on keeping borders safe, supporting naval capability, and growing our defence industry is in stark contrast to Labor who never commissioned a new naval vessel, oversaw a border security failure, slashed defence spending to the lowest levels since before the Second World War and saw thousands of job losses in our defence industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMore shipbuilding work means a strong economy, and a stronger future for this important industry and our Navy and Australian Border Force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Defence Peter Dutton said the acquisition would build our Navy capability and help secure our borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese additional patrol boats will strengthen Navy\u2019s contribution to the nation\u2019s fisheries protection, immigration, customs and drug law enforcement operations,\u201d Minister Dutton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe improved design increases the quality of life for the ship\u2019s company, manages obsolescence and increases the use of Australian supplied equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese extra boats will also enable Navy to transfer two of its Cape Class patrol boats to the ABF \u2013 further strengthening our border defences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Evolved Cape class patrol boats will reduce the risk in Navy\u2019s transition from the ageing Armidale class patrol boat fleet to the new, more capable Arafura class offshore patrol vessels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said the acquisition added to the Government\u2019s continuous naval shipbuilding program and ongoing commitment to developing the defence industry in Western Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a great shot in the arm for our shipbuilding skills and jobs pipeline with at least 68 per cent of the contract value being invested in Australian industry,\u201d Minister Price said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAustralia has some of the best shipbuilders in the world, and right here in WA, Austal are leading the way with the Evolved Cape Class patrol boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis project is in addition to our planned investment of up to $30 billion in dozens of new vessels for our Navy that will be built in WA over the coming decades, supporting 2,000 WA jobs and hundreds of WA businesses in the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWA\u2019s defence industry is at the centre of our plan to develop our sovereign capability so we can build at home what we need to defend our home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two additional vessels are scheduled to be delivered by late 2023, with all eight to be operational by early 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Morrison Government is investing $124 million in two new Evolved Cape Class patrol boats from Austal in WA to continue its commitment to keeping our borders secure and supporting Australian defence industry and jobs. This additional acquisition will support the continued employment opportunities for around 400 direct jobs and a further 150 jobs across … Continue reading “Keeping our borders safe and supporting Australian industry”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16186,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16185\/revisions\/16186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}