South Australian premier Jay Weatherill joined Opposition Leader Dan Andrews on the campaign trail at Williamstown’s shipyard on Friday, vowing to lobby the federal government to keep shipbuilding jobs onshore.
BAE Systems, employing more than 1000 people, could start shedding workers in the new year unless it gets more work.
Mr Andrews said, if elected on Saturday, a state Labor government would establish a $200 million fund to “turbocharge” growth in defence technology and five other high-growth sectors where Australia could lead the world.
“A Labor government in Victoria will keep Tony Abbott honest and send the Liberals this important message: local jobs come first,” he said. “I’ll work with Tony Abbott but I won’t work for him, because politics shouldn’t be one-sided.”
Mr Weatherill is proposing a coalition of state premiers to fight for defence industry jobs, but said he had received a negative response from Victorian premier Denis Napthine.
Last month, Williamstown’s BAE Systems shipyard was awarded a contract to manufacture three additional hull blocks under an $8.5 billion Air Warfare Destroyer program. The work was reallocated from the government-owned ASC in Adelaide, with BAE replacing ASC as prime shipbuilder.
Goya Dmytryshchak
