Patrick Durrant | Sydney
Former Navy clearance diver and WA Minister for Defence Issues Paul Papalia spoke with ADM regarding the recently elected McGowan Labor Government's defence policy and the Naval Shipbuilding Plan.
The state is currently experiencing record levels of debt and unemployment, coupled with a collapsing property market. Diversifying the economy in the aftermath of the mining/resources boom is a major tenet of the new Labor Government's Plan for Jobs. According to Papalia, the defence industry is one key area where WA can make a significant contribution.
“We need a ship construction capability beyond what they've given us”
Remarkably, there has never previously been a minister responsible for defence in the state and as the first incumbent, Papalia is seeking to emulate South Australia's success in harnessing its local defence industry.
“We're establishing Defence West, which as an organisation will actively campaign to win a greater share of the Australian defence spend. It will be borne out of a new ‘super department’ focused on jobs, science, innovation and tourism.”
Papalia hinted that there was also serious consideration being given to the appointment of a high-profile defence advocate, with discussions already in progress with a potential candidate.
The Government wasn't convinced an advisory board was necessarily the best option but Papalia said there would be a body set up from which specialist expertise could be drawn upon to help identify opportunities for defence industries.
There are plans to hold a biennial ‘Indian Ocean Defence Expo’ that would occur in the off year of the current biennial Pacific International Maritime Expo held in Sydney.
“We'd host it in Perth with a concurrent conference focusing on a niche area of interest within defence; we'd be targeting the entire Indian Ocean rim and the African continent as a priority, but also the Middle East, Asia and further afield.”
Regarding infrastructure, the Labor Government is keen to develop the outer harbour (essentially Cockburn Sound), which currently plays host to the Australian Marine Complex Common User Facility at Henderson, and Papalia stressed he was determined to ensure defence requirements are an integral part of whatever that would eventually look like.
Consortia with local industry were already forming and a defence event is planned for Friday 26th May, with Primes, SMEs and assorted Government officials all due to attend. The intent is for industry to speak and inform the Government of their concerns and ideas around plans to improve the defence industry sector.
Paul Papalia served in the RAN for 26 years before entering politics, working as a clearance diver and specialising in explosives retrieval and escape and rescue. He saw extensive service in the Middle East, namely in Iraq, where his work for the UN earned him the Conspicuous Service Cross. He later returned during the Iraq War, serving as Executive Officer in an Australian mine clearance team. Credit: WA Parliament
Papalia said in order to streamline the public sector, many government agencies and bodies have been slashed and departments restructured, but added this would better serve defence interests.
“Defence industry will now be able to draw upon the considerable resources of that super department; previously defence industry matters were buried in the Department of Commerce, so unless you were very knowledgeable it was very difficult to find the right person to speak with.”
On the Federal Government's Naval Shipbuilding Plan, Papalia's principal concern was for the state's “tens of thousands of very highly skilled workers with skill sets identical to those necessary for the shipbuilding industry” who no longer had jobs.
“We have a huge capacity for human capital which I don't think is resident in South Australia and in fact the Federal Government has acknowledged that by agreeing to establishing a skills training centre there," he said.
The gap to fill skilled labour employment in WA resembled what Papalia referred to as a ‘chasm of death’ and he said SA's 'valley of death' looked more like a pothole in comparison.
He dismissed talk of future sustainment work for WA as being a solution, saying local workers couldn't afford to wait and that more jobs would result from construction.
“The vast bulk of highly skilled fabrication work resides in construction, not in maintenance. We need a ship construction capability beyond what they've given us.”
Papalia also didn't put much stock in Federal Government assurances that OPV construction would be transferred to the west following completion of the first two vessels.
“I know what the South Australians will do, they'll fight to keep construction of that class of ships in their state,” he predicts.
He called on Defence to provide more clarity on what future mine warfare and hydrographic survey capabilities might look like so that local industry could position itself for the work.
“There's no real commitment to Western Australia other than vague possibilities decades hence.”
Papalia will lead a team to Canberra to meet with senior Defence politicians and personnel to notify them of the State's plans and to also seek out advice on what the Defence requirement was with regard to WA.
“We want to participate in the national debate; we also want to know their view in terms of what they need so we can deliver and be more likely to get our fair share of the work,” he said.