Melbourne
[ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OMITTED]
This is a great day for this shipyard, for our Navy, for the Australian Defence Force and for the defence of Australia.
Seventy one years ago today, the great British fortress of Singapore surrendered. The Royal Navy's Prince of Wales and the Repulse had been sunk only two months earlier.
Within days, Darwin was bombed. Within months, the first Canberra would be fighting in her final battle for us.
In those days, we truly learned that while our alliances are vital and our friends are many, our security is always ultimately in our own hands.
That is the lesson of the 15 February 1942 and it is a lesson we carry with us on the 15th of February 2013 as we name this ship.
That the best defence is self-defence: that for an island nation, its own Navy is its historic guarantee.
From those days to these, from Savo Island to the Middle East Area of Operations, the name Canberra has served our Navy and our nation well.
I am proud that soon it will serve us again.
The Canberra and her sister Landing Helicopter Dock ship will give our Navy, and our Defence Force as a whole, an entirely new ability to defend Australia and our interests.
They will give our Defence Force an unprecedented ability to exercise and operate on land and sea – supporting amphibious operations and operating independently in our region and beyond like never before.
And when the Australian Navy is called on to provide humanitarian assistance, the Canberra will be ready.
The new Canberra will carry some of our finest war fighters – and it is a tribute to some of our most impressive skilled workers.
935 Australians will work on the Landing Helicopter Dock ships before they put to sea: hundreds of fine Australians doing great Australian jobs.
The Government is committed to maintaining industries here in Australia with the capability to support the Australian Defence Force – and we are committed to creating and supporting the kind of skilled, well-paid work done here at Williamstown.
That's why projects such as the Air Warfare Destroyers and the Future Submarines are so important.
To the veterans and members of the HMAS Canberra/HMAS Shropshire Association – we honour you on such an important day.
I pay my deepest respect and our nation's deepest gratitude to the veterans who served on the first HMAS Canberra during the Second World War.
They never let us down.
No HMAS Canberra has ever let us down – I know we will be proud of the new ship Canberra and all who sail in her.