Press Conference, HMAS Stirling, Western Australia

SUBJECTS: Growing & Skilling Australia’s Submariner Workforce; Polling; Melbourne Synagogue Attack.

COMMODORE DANIEL SUTHERLAND: We remember and honour the rich traditions and history of the Noongar People who have been the guardians of this land and sea for countless generations. The connection of the First Nations peoples to this land and surrounding waters is profound and enduring. A testament to their strength, resilience and respect for the natural world. I recognise the role of First Nations peoples as both warriors and custodians of these lands and waters whose wisdom and practices continue to guide us. It is with great respect that we shortly turn this sod today, acknowledging that this new training centre will stand on Country, steeped in cultural significance and in history. I am confident this endeavour will contribute to the continuation of the rich tapestry of stories, traditions and care that the Noongar people have woven into this land and its surrounding waters. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Commodore Dan Sutherland and I would like to welcome all of you to HMAS Stirling and thank you for your attendance here today as we turn the first sod on the SSM Training Centre - West, which will provide essential training support to our submariners as part of the nuclear powered submarine capability program. I would now like to hand over to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, The Honourable Matt Keogh.

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL, MATT KEOGH: Thank you very much. Today is an important milestone in our AUKUS journey. It is great to be here at HMAS Stirling, Garden Island in Western Australia, the home of the Australian submarine fleet. And as part of the AUKUS journey towards nuclear powered submarine capability for Australia, many activities have already been underway. Indeed, we have seen Australian Navy personnel undertaking training in the UK and the US, indeed topping the class in the UK. Recently we had the USS Hawaii visit Australia right here at HMAS Stirling and it was brought into port by a Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant. And of course when it comes to industry, we have got ASC staff currently undertaking work at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and they have been also learning their craft and trade at other locations here and abroad. In August we had USS Hawaii and its tender vessel visit Australia. While they were here at HMAS Stirling in Perth, they undertook much needed work and maintenance on that vessel. Starting that journey towards developing for Australia our own capability of maintaining and sustaining nuclear powered submarines. Of course we need to continue to grow our capability in that regard and in particular we need to grow our submariner force. And so today with commencing construction of the new training centre here at Stirling, and so today as we start the construction of the new training centre here at HMAS Stirling for our nuclear powered submariners, we are starting that next part of the journey making sure that our submariners have access to state of the art training facilities here as we grow our Submarine Force. The building that we are constructing here will support Australian submariners on their learning journey as well as supporting the United States and United Kingdom submariner forces. They start their rotation of submarines through HMAS Stirling here in Western Australia from 2027 onwards. And of course is a key part of generating the force that we require to operate Australian nuclear powered submarines from the early 2030s. As part of generating that force of building that capability and growing our submariner footprint, we are today also launching the ‘I Am a Submariner’ advertising campaign as part of our ADF Careers recruitment advertising. This is a submariner specialist advertising campaign that will be rolling out across television and social media and online. Uniquely this will be our first recruitment advertising that will be going out on TikTok, making sure that we are hitting the eyeballs of those age rangers that are so important for us to recruit to our Defence Force and grow our submariner force in particular. The ‘I Am a Submariner’ advertising campaign will be uncovering the myths behind being a submariner, removing some of the unknown so that people can see the opportunity to work on state of the art technology in unique ways that are available through the work of being a submariner and understand more about what it means to be a member of our Royal Australian Navy in our Australian Defence Force. This is an advertising campaign that highlights that this is an area of work that not many people understand a lot about and we want to make sure that those that might be interested in a career in our Defence Force can start to understand a bit more about a career as a submariner. We're diving all in with this advertising campaign. That's why we're going out not just in the usual fashion in outdoor advertising and television and traditional social media but we're also adding TikTok as well to make sure that we are targeting the right eyeballs that we need to see this advertising. When we look at the TikTok audience here in Australia, the vast majority of it is in the key age demographics that we need to be recruiting from and that's why we're joining the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Department of Social Services as being one of the early adopters in Government to advertising on TikTok as well. I want to say to anybody who's thinking or enquiring or just scratching their head about a potential career in our Australian Defence Force, get onto the ADF Careers website, look at the submariner careers that are available. Right now people can be joining our conventional Submarine Force but also there are already careers open in our nuclear propelled and nuclear powered Submarine Force as well. We're looking for the communication specialists and technicians. We're looking for the electricians but we're also looking for the mechanics and we're looking for those areas in both our conventional force but also for our nuclear powered Submarine Force as well. This means that there's careers available for a long time to come and based here in Western Australia, where not only is it the home of our Submarine Force but Western Australia is also the home of the training for our Submarine Force as well. So please get onto the ADF Careers website, check it out and you'll be able to be working in the new state of the art training centre that we are starting construction on today. 

JOURNALIST: How many submariners are you looking for over and what period will that be taking place? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So we launched the Workforce Plan for the Australian Defence Force early in November and that showed that we're looking to grow the entire Defence Force to 69,000 by the early 2030s and that includes obviously growing that submariner workforce to cater for the existing conventional submarines that we have operating today as well as having submariners participating in training around in the US and the UK and starting here and we'll be growing that to be several thousand over the coming decade or so, so that we can also be operating the Virginia-class submarines that we'll be taking on board from the early 2030s and then of course moving to our own AUKUS-class submarines thereafter. 

JOURNALIST: And then the facility you're about to do the sod turning for, how will that differ to this one that we're standing in here? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So right here we're standing in a surface fleet training centre that's a bit of a multi-purpose training facility but the new building that we start construction on today will provide that specialist training opportunity for our submariner workforce looking at simulation and having classrooms but it's going to be developed around needing to support a nuclear powered submarine training platform that's not just for our Australian forces to be able to be trained in but also to support the visiting submarine forces from the UK and the US that will be rotating through here at HMAS Stirling from 2027 onwards. 

JOURNALIST: You're targeting the younger demographic, it sounds like, with the reach of TikTok but what sort of prerequisites do students or younger people need to have in such a specialised role? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So there's a whole range of different careers available as a submariner that cover all sorts of different roles and that means that the prerequisites can be different depending on the technical nature or whether a higher degree is required for those roles but critically what we're after is someone that can pass year 12 and has that sort of aptitude and quality and is prepared to step up to serve in our Australian Defence Force and then the training opportunities that we provide are about what makes them a submariner in our Royal Australian Navy and of course where people need to pass the required medical and other evaluative tests that go on that are part of the ordinary checks and backgrounds for joining our Defence Force. 

JOURNALIST: The ADF has had challenges in recruitment like any other sector but what makes you confident that the younger generation will step up? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So the Australian Defence Force absolutely has been confronted by the same challenges for workforce that we've seen across all types of industry but what we've seen recently is a considerable increase in the number of applications we're seeing from people wanting to join the Australian Defence Force. I think most recently it was about an 18% increase just for those wanting to come into Navy and what people are looking for of course is they're well remunerated in the Defence Force, they're looked after with things like support for housing, health cover, dental and a whole range of other benefits but most importantly it's an opportunity to serve our nation and the national interest, and people that want to have a meaningful career, a career that has meaning and supports our broader Australian community, can find no better place than the Australian Defence Force.

JOURNALIST: Are you looking elsewhere, any other countries to recruit as well? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So earlier this year we announced that we were opening recruitment to permanent residents from New Zealand that had to meet all the other usual testing but had to be residing in Australia for a year as a permanent resident and from the 1st of January we'll be opening that up to our other Five Eyes partners, so the US, the UK and Canada, if they've been a permanent resident in Australia for over a year and otherwise meet the other required background and aptitude tests.

JOURNALIST: And you mentioned housing, what about housing for those other five nations that want to move here to be recruited. I mean today there's a new report, 10,000 Australians becoming homeless every month, how do you address that? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So we're talking about recruiting from those that are already permanently resident in Australia so that's not increasing the burden there but obviously supporting our Defence Force members with housing is incredibly important and it's why only a month or so ago I was very proud to be out and about very close to HMAS Stirling here announcing new housing delivery through Defence Housing Australia to assist in the provision of housing for our Defence Force members so they're not having to put as much pressure on the private rental market because they're able to access housing through DHA as well as through a number of other ways. We don't just support Defence Force members through DHA, we also provide rental assistance for those that need to have choice of housing available to them but we also support our Defence Force members with assistance in buying a home as well. 

JOURNALIST: The use of TikTok as an advertising platform, the Australian Government doesn't share the same sort of concerns that the US Government does about that platform on the table? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So it's really important for a whole range of reasons, in particular for Defence Force recruiting but also for health messaging that we're able to get that message out to where people are and the reality is for young Australians so many of them are looking at TikTok and what that means is we need to be advertising there but we're also taking the necessary steps to mitigate any risk so we're not establishing a profile on TikTok, people will be able to follow those ads straight through to a website and that reduces any potential for following data and so forth. But it is absolutely crucial and important, we need to get recruitment advertising as well as that health messaging that the Department of Health and Aged Care provide in front of Australians and in front of young people and that's where young people are and we're doing that in a responsible way but it's important that we do that. 

JOURNALIST: You've said the focus is mostly on using TikTok and attracting younger people. What about career changes or people who may be older, what is your advice for those people? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So the innovation of the advertising campaign for submarines is that it's using TikTok but it's also continuing to use the other traditional, more traditional social media outlets as well as outdoor advertising, billboards, television advertising and we certainly do target those people that are looking at career change opportunities so we're looking at people that are leaving school, people that might be studying at TAFE or at university, people that have started a job and looking for a new career as well as making sure that that advertising messaging is getting out to parent groups and teachers so that they're able to give good advice and support to their children or their students about potential career opportunities in the Australian Defence Force as well. 

JOURNALIST: In terms of older people perhaps making the switch, is there any kind of restrictions on age or previous experiences that could restrict them in their application? 

MINISTER KEOGH: Look there's virtually no restriction on age when it comes to joining the Defence Force in that I've seen people of many advanced years join the Defence Force to perform different roles. What we're looking for is aptitude and a willingness to be part of our Defence Force primarily. We've done a lot of work in updating our health requirements for example, recognizing that so many different roles don't deploy out into the field, don't require that level of health and readiness. We do obviously need to make sure that people are well supported through their Defence Force service but we can be a lot broader in the type of people that we're able to recruit and that means we're also benefiting from their skills and experience joining our Defence Force as well. I've been really happy in the time I've been Minister to join people that have joined our Defence Force much later in life as a second or third career. They've brought their skill and experience to our Defence Force which is a great benefit to our nation and it's given them a different opportunity to serve and to give back to the Australian community through service with the Defence Force. 

JOURNALIST: On the back of that question, what about targeting high school students for example, is there scope for that? Considering you're putting this out on the TikTok.

MINISTER KEOGH: We're absolutely targeting -

JOURNALIST: And are they able to see that on social media with the ban? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So we are obviously targeting people that are looking at leaving school and we do that through a range of media and opportunities. People don't leave school till they're 18 now so that still gives people a good two years of social media even after social media bans are introduced. But also of course we're working with school careers advisors, we're working with teachers, we have ADF Careers tents that go out to careers days at schools to make sure that any student going through our school system, whether they're looking at a vocational trade, whether they're looking at a university qualification or even if they just don't know what they want to do. And so many people I've met in the Defence Force didn't know what they wanted to do as they were coming through high school, had the opportunity to meet with a Defence Force member through ADF careers, through the recruiting or maybe it was through a family friend and realised actually that's a great career for me and they've had long and fulfilled careers through that and will continue to engage in all of those different ways with our school leavers and those that are making subject selection choices going forward. 

JOURNALIST: A couple of quick questions on other topics - 

MINISTER KEOGH: Are we exhausted on recruitment and training? 

JOURNALIST: Just one more question sorry, on an environment front, the Conservation Council WA says that assessments, environmental assessments have not yet been completed, they're worried that we're pushing ahead too quickly with now recruiting personnel, what's your response to that? 

MINISTER KEOGH: I don't really know what the foundation of any of their concern are. There's obviously work that's being undertaken in terms of the ultimate facility footprint that'll be here at Stirling in terms of dealing with low level waste management. I mean we're talking about waste that's the same that's generated by hospitals that are all over our state and all over the country. We'll continue to engage with the appropriate regulators as we need to and of course that's terribly important as well. 

JOURNALIST: Is Anthony Albanese's leadership safe in light of these latest polls? 

MINISTER KEOGH: Anthony Albanese has been a Prime Minister focused on the issues that directly matter to Australian people and we've been focused on issues like cost of living pressure affecting Australian families, working Australians all across the country. I know in my community being able to deliver a tax cut to every taxpayer, being able to make childcare cheaper for families, being able to deliver cheaper medicines for families of all different types has and of course being able to work with the Cook Labor Government here in Western Australia to deliver those electricity bill credits has been an absolute game changer. As well as, especially where in my community we've got so many people that work in aged care and work in childcare, being able to deliver meaningful income growth and wages increases has made a critical difference to those people and it's that sort of leadership and that focus on these really important issues for Australians is what they want to see and that's what our Government is committed to because it's not just that what we've delivered but what we'll deliver going forward. Things like free TAFE make a big difference to people's outcomes going forward in life and that's what we want to deliver and that's what Anthony Albanese is committed to as Prime Minister. 

JOURNALIST: You're not concerned by these numbers that show Peter Dutton being so far in front of him in terms of - 

MINISTER KEOGH: Oh there's going to be all sorts of people that want to provide their analysis on the crosstabs of every little part of each poll that comes out every week and you know we get to the end of the year and there's a heap of them and a flurry but I'll let the many various commentators give you all of their different versions of what that means. 

JOURNALIST: There's been some criticism that the PM is a little bit slow to react to major events. Would you not have preferred to see him out in front of the synagogue on the weekend rather than opening a train line in WA just to to deal with that? 

MINISTER KEOGH: I was very happy to see the Prime Minister of Australia in Western Australia over the weekend. He did great things across Western Australia, great announcements that support Western Australian industry, not just the investments we've been making in public transport through the Ellenbrook METRONET line but also across Western Australia things like the extension of the line to Byford were heavily invested in but also announcements that are supporting our resources industry which are incredibly important. The Prime Minister made very strong comments in reaction to what we saw happen at the synagogue in Melbourne as you would absolutely expect him to do but it was also great to see him in Western Australia engaging on so many different fronts here. As you would expect the Prime Minister to do, moving around the country, I think he did exactly what would be expected of him in making very clear and strong statements about this terrible terrible event that we never want to see anything like this repeated again and of course he made those statements and he continued to do the other work that was very important to happen here in Western Australia as well. 

JOURNALIST: Just back quickly to Defence, sorry for the whiplash, but there's a new agreement with Nauru and Australia today that Australia is going to fund security defence measures in Nauru. Will any of that include Australian Defence personnel going to Nauru or do you have any comments you can say about what will be involved in that? 

MINISTER KEOGH: Yeah I'm not in a position to add to anything to the announcement today in terms of that granularity and detail. Okay thanks very much everybody.