Main points:
- The City of Cockburn expresses frustration at the Federal Government’s failure to include a mooted dry berth in Henderson following the release of the Defence Strategic Review
- The review has called a Henderson dry berth a ‘critical enabler’ for naval shipbuilding
- Henderson is set to become a major national and global centre following the AUKUS submarine announcement.
The City of Cockburn has expressed frustration at the Federal Government's failure to clarify details or include a mooted large-vessel dry berth for Henderson in its release of the Defence Strategic Review announced today.
The review makes a strong case for the dry berth infrastructure calling it a ‘critical enabler’ for naval shipbuilding. Perplexingly, there is no acknowledgement or agreement to this recommendation in the Government’s release.
The Henderson shipbuilding precinct is home to Australia's largest marine industry and Cockburn is poised to become a major national and global centre for blue economy industries, especially shipbuilding and maritime defence, following the AUKUS submarine pathway announcement in March.
The Australian Marine Complex (AMC) is a world-class centre of excellence for manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, maintenance, and technology development, servicing the defence, marine, oil and gas, and resource industries.
The proposed large vessel dry berth in Henderson is a critical investment in Australian sovereign capability and is essential to maintaining the new fleet of submarine and other military (plus civilian/commercial) projects on the West coast.
Mayor Logan Howlett said the absence of a commitment to a dry berth promised by the previous Federal Government threatened to severely restrict the crucial evolution of Henderson in its critical role to support the future of the Australian Defence Force.
“The City of Cockburn is home to five of WA’s most successful industrial and commercial hubs, with everything from defence to manufacturing. Latitude 32, one of Australia’s largest industrial zones and logistics hubs, complemented by the Bibra Lake Industrial Precinct, Cockburn Central, a strategic regional centre in the southern part of Perth and Jandakot City, one of Australia’s busiest airfields and its largest aviation training base. This powerhouse of industry and commerce is best positioned to meet supply chain needs for the defence and shipbuilding industries.
"At its peak, building and sustaining US, UK and sovereign nuclear-powered submarines will create up to 8,500 direct jobs in the industrial workforce.
"An additional 500 direct jobs are expected to be created to sustain the US and UK rotational presence between 2027-2032 in WA.
"Even before the AUKUS announcement, by 2041 right here in Henderson, we are expecting $2.7b additional investment in shipbuilding infrastructure.
"We expect 70 defence vessels to be built or upgraded, along with $45b in shipbuilding orders in WA by 2040 creating 4,500 additional ship construction jobs in WA by 2030.
"These major opportunities which will benefit both Western Australia and the nation will not be able to be achieved without the addition of a dry berth and strategic road upgrades,” said Mayor Howett.
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