- Cook Labor Government releases updated Defence and Defence Industry Strategy
- Latest initiative by WA Labor Government to boost State's defence sector following a series of groundbreaking actions and advocacy since taking office eight years ago
- AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine program alone expected to create around 10,000 highly skilled jobs in WA
The Cook Labor Government has released its ambitious Defence and Defence Industry Strategy 2025 to drive local jobs in Western Australia.
When WA Labor came to office eight years ago, the State's defence sector had no voice in the national defence discussion.
Since then, the WA Labor Government has created the Defence Industry portfolio, established Defence West, appointed a senior retired military officer as a Defence Advocate and published the first Defence and Defence Industry Strategy in 2018.
This ongoing advocacy has cemented WA as a key part of the nation's move to boost sovereign defence capability.
The updated 2025 Strategy outlinesthe State's vision for how the defence anddefenceindustrylandscapewill look inWAby2040,with a focus on the critical role WA will play in the homeporting of Australia's nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
The Defence and Defence Industry Strategy 2025 also outlines six key pillars in partnership with the Commonwealth,the Department of Defence and the defence industry:
- Workforce;
- Infrastructure;
- Industry;
- Community;
- Research and Innovation; and
- Veterans.
To learn more about the Defence and Defence Industry Strategy 2025, visit:
https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/defence-west-wa-defence-and-defence-industry-strategy
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"WA's defence industry continues to go from success to success, and through the new Defence and Defence Industry Strategy we aim to grow the sector's presence, and create more jobs for Western Australians.
"Our State is set to become home to the largest naval shipbuilding and sustainment location in the Southern Hemisphere, and we will need thousands of skilled workers to support its operations.
"The industry has already seen more than more than 1,000 jobs created in Western Australia since AUKUS came into effect, and through this strategy we aim to grow that figure to 10,000."
As stated by Defence Industry Minister Paul Papalia:
"The release today of the Defence Industry Strategy is an enormously significant outcome for the State's defence industry.
"I have advocated tirelessly for Western Australia to get a greater share of the shipbuilding and submarine sustainment work.
"As a result of the advocacy, the State succeeded in both securing depot-level sustainment of nuclear-powered submarines, alongside a continuous naval shipbuilding guarantee from the Commonwealth.
"These successes will allow us to build a globally significant defence industry that will provide high paying jobs to Western Australia's young people for generations to come."
