I refer to your story “Baldwin: ALP caused job losses”, Maitland Mercury, July 24, 2015.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Under Labor, Australia’s shipyards were working at full capacity to build the Air Warfare Destroyers and the Landing Helicopter Dock ships.
Labor launched a plan in 2013 that would have maintained industry capacity, created jobs, maximised value for defence acquisitions and put us on the path to being a continuous and efficient shipbuilding nation across all categories of vessel.
After the election, the Abbott government abandoned Labor’s plan and is decimating Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capabilities.
Mr Baldwin’s claims ignore the reality that you don’t just order navy ships for the sake of it. That would be a reckless waste of taxpayers’ money.
The Abbott government has been in power for nearly two years. It’s time it stopped acting like an opposition and started acting like a government.
JOEL FITZGIBBON, Member for Hunter