FED: Govt denies plans to close Williamstown base

AAP General News (Australia)
12-27-2000
FED: Govt denies plans to close Williamstown base

CANBERRA, Dec 27 AAP - The federal government today denied it planned to close down
the Williamstown shipyard in Melbourne and move its operations to South Australia's Osborne
submarine building base.

A spokesman for Defence Minister John Moore said the government did not have the power
to close the Victorian shipyard.

"We can't close Williamstown down, for the very simple reason we don't own it," the
spokesman said.

"We have no plans to rationalise the industry, we haven't signed off on any plan to
do anything to the industry."

The Herald Sun and The Australian newspapers today reported Mr Moore was pushing a
plan for the Tenix-owned naval dockyard at Williamstown to be closed, with a potential
loss of about 2,000 jobs.

Its operations would be moved to the currently government-owned Australian Submarine
Corporation's (ASC) shipyard at Osborne in Adelaide, they reported.

Mr Moore's spokesman said he could not comment on whether the government was pushing
privately-owned defence companies like Tenix to consider the shift.

"At the end of the day it is up to the private sector on how they structure their operations
and where they locate them," the spokesman said.

The spokesman said the defence industry had a big win with increases in defence spending
in the government's recent White Paper.

"The opportunity is there but it is up to them to decide how they restructure their
operations," he said.

The newspapers reported the government was pushing for the consolidation move because
of concerns there would not be sufficient work to support the yards once current projects
like the Collins submarines, Anzac frigates and Huon-class minehunters at Newcastle were
completed in the next four years.

The Herald Sun reported government sources as saying the Osborne plan would involve
a joint venture between the now privately owned ADI (formerly Australian Defence Industries)
and Tenix.

The Australian reported Mr Moore was pushing potential bidders for ASC, which is to
be sold off by the government next year, to ensure the Osborne shipyard was built up to
cater for surface ships as well as submarines.

AAP msl/mb/daw/sp

KEYWORD: SHIPYARD

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