Well thank you Sean and thank you Herve for your very inspiring address and your commitment to sail once again in the Sydney to Hobart. Of course depending on how strong the winds are and how rough the seas are, you may, if you do that, wish you were in one of your submarines.
[Laughter]
It’s great to be here of course with the French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. We’ve just signed the intergovernmental agreement in the presence of the Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne and we’re honoured, of course, by the attendance of the Premier Jay Weatherill and the Leader of the Opposition Steven Marshall.
The intergovernmental agreement that we’ve signed here today, and the deal we have, the arrangements we have with DCNS, between the Commonwealth of Australia and the French Republic, underline the historic significance of this project. This is not a one-off defence procurement. This is a commitment which will run for generations.
We talked earlier at the signing a moment ago, about our obligations to future generations in another context, in the context of bringing the Budget back into balance. But what we’re doing here is securing the future of Australia; in terms of its defence capability, but also securing the future of its sovereign defence industry. Securing its future, our future, in terms of technology and advanced manufacturing.
What our $195 billion investment in defence industries underlines is our commitment to keep Australia safe in challenging times. But our determination to ensure that so far as we can, every dollar, every piece of technology, every piece of know-how will be effective - created, spent, here IN Australia. This is a work between DCNS, France and Australia which will create, together with the other shipbuilding projects, the greatest capability that we’ve ever had here in terms of defence industry. It is a massive game-changer.
The overall commitment as you know is to build 54 ships; Offshore Patrol Vessels, Pacific Patrol Vessels, the Future Frigates and of course the Future Submarines, the subject of this project. It is historic. It will ensure that the jobs of the future are not somewhere else. They’re here in Adelaide. They’re here in Australia. The jobs of the future, the most demanding, the ones that will test and challenge the brightest minds of future generations of Australians will be here.
We are building our future here; innovative, technologically advanced, proudly Australian. Working with our French partners, in a way that our forebears have worked for over a century. 100 years ago, our forebears - French and Australians - were fighting together to defend the freedom of France. Our service men and women are fighting together to destroy Daesh and the terrorists that threaten our security. Now, our navies, our finest technologists, our finest designers, our finest builders will be working together to secure our future in the generations to come.
So Sean, Herve, Ministers, I’m delighted to be here. I am very pleased that the agreement that we’ve entered into, that we’ve signed today, faithfully reflects the commitments that President Hollande and I made when we spoke on the telephone earlier in the year to confirm the selection of DCNS. This is a partnership that is built of capability, on capacity, but above all it is built on trust.
Minister, I’m delighted to be here with you. Herve, so pleased that DCNS is making this commitment. This will be looked back on in years to come as a historic day for Australia, France, for our Navy, and for industry here in Adelaide and right across our nation.
Thank you very much.