Ausbil to repay nearly $20 m to customers for excess fees

PHOTO: ASIC has pulled up numerous financial firms on overcharging customers. 

Company manoeuvring is underway in the wake of Federal Government plans to build a new fleet of naval patrol boats and frigates in Adelaide from 2018.

South Australian advanced manufacturing firm SAGE Automation yesterday announced a joint venture with naval shipbuilder Navantia Australia.

The project is expected to generate jobs for the state, which, at a rate of 8.2 per cent in June, suffers from the highest unemployment rate in the country.

SAGE chief executive Adrian Fahey said it would provide work opportunities for locals, especially those from the automotive manufacturing industry, which is facing widespread collapse when Holden exits the country in 2017.

"It's a huge opportunity to really upskill and use the skills that we already have in Australia," he said.

"If you look at some of the skills that sit in manufacturing, for example, Holden, those same skills which have been used in the automotive industry can easily be transferred to defence."

The Government will spend about $40 billion on the frigates and patrol boats, with up to 2,500 people to be employed directly once the projects are underway.

A significant number of shipbuilding jobs will be lost before the build, however, as a gap in projects contributes to the so-called "valley of death".

Jobs will fall from about 2,000 to 1,000 ahead of the new build, which the Government has brought forward by three years.