About David
David served in the Australian Defence Force for over 22 years. An Army pilot, he flew helicopters and fixed wing aircraft and was the Senior Flying Instructor at the School of Army Aviation in Queensland.
Graduating as an experimental test pilot from the Empire Test Pilots’ School (UK), he finished his full time career in Defence as the Commanding Officer of the RAAF Aircraft Research and Development Unit.
Elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Wakefield (SA) in 2004, he served in the Parliament until 2007. David continued to fly as a test pilot and ran a small business working in the Defence and Aviation sectors prior to being elected to the Senate in 2010, 2016 and again in 2019.
In the (45th) Parliament, David was sworn as the Assistant Minister for Defence.
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Commemorating South Australia’s contribution to the Battle of Britain, I laid a wreath at today’s Commemorative Service – a key event of the Royal Australian Air Force Centenary in SA – to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of our RAAF personnel.![]()
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I paid my respects alongside (pictured, from left) Air Commodore Ross Bender, WWII RAAF veteran Fred Brown, and Premier Steven Marshall. ![]()
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The Battle of Britain was a prolonged air battle, fought between July and October 1940, in defence of Britain against an experienced and numerically superior Nazi Luftwaffe. It was the first military defeat of Nazi forces in WWII and has become synonymous with defiantly defending one's nation in the air. ![]()
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8 South Australian aircrew, fought in the Battle of Britain - approximately 25% of the total number of Australians. 35 Australians flew combat operations during the Battle of Britain, of whom 10 were killed in action. 8 Australians became aces by shooting down 5 or more enemy aircraft.![]()
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The courageous actions of allied personnel, including the South Australians, inspired Winston Churchill’s famous quote: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' ![]()
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More historical information on the Battle of Britain: bit.ly/3EmZjcq
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SUBMARINE LOTE SECURES AUSTRALIAN NAVAL CAPABILITY TO DEFEND OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS![]()
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) has confirmed that the Life-of-Type Extension (LOTE) for the Collins Class fleet is to be undertaken at Osborne – keeping our submarine fleet strong and agile into the future.![]()
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To ensure Australia has submarine capability to deter threats within the Indo-Pacific region, the LOTE of the Collins Class extends their life – avoiding any potential capability gap – by upgrading the technology and systems within the vessels. LOTE on the first Collins Class submarine is expected to commence in 2026.![]()
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In addition to the LOTE being performed in SA, the Full-Cycle Docking (FCD) of the Royal Australian Navy’s current Collins Class submarine fleet is to remain at Osborne Naval Shipyard. Between the Collins Class FCD and LOTE, as much as $6.4 billion is expected to be invested in these works – supporting approximately 1,300 SA jobs.![]()
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More information: bit.ly/3nDV4DA
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When was this Tabled in Parliament. ??
Brilliant
STABILITY AND OPPORTUNITY FOR SA DEFENCE INDUSTRY AND SHIPBUILDERS![]()
Among yesterday's announcements of the AUKUS alliance and Australia’s new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, there is news you may have missed which represents stability for the Australia’s defence industry and workforce, extra economic activity for South Australia, and new opportunities for local SMEs to take part in defence contracts.![]()
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) has confirmed that the Full-Cycle Docking (FCD) of the Royal Australian Navy’s current Collins Class submarine fleet is to remain at Osborne Naval Shipyard – ensuring stability and continuity.![]()
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SA Liberal Senators and Members – myself included – have been advocating for this work to remain in South Australia and it’s welcome news this has now been confirmed.![]()
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FCD is an extensive maintenance and upgrade refit program, involving thousands of tasks over 2 years, which each submarine rotates through after a decade of operational service. During FCD, ASC cuts the hull of the submarine to remove the main motor and diesel engines before re-welding the hull back together.![]()
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In addition to the FCD remaining at Osborne, the Life-of-Type Extension (LOTE) for the Collins Class fleet is to be undertaken at Osborne – ensuring our submarine fleet remains strong and agile into the future. Between the Collins Class FCD and LOTE, as much as $6.4 billion is expected to be invested in these works – supporting approximately 1,300 SA jobs. LOTE on the first Collins Class submarine is expected to commence in 2026.![]()
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More information: bit.ly/3nDV4DA
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www.facebook.com/HongKongStateCountry/posts/308316072834654 'China Communist Party Gov "Violate (Sino-British Joint Declaration) so British & NATO troops to return,temporarily Management in Hong Kong." "Hong Kong back to" Dominion (British)", join Commonwealth realm,implement constitutional monarchy parliamentary system, (MP) general election use (Mixed Member Proportional). Governor appoint Majority party Leader become (Prime Minister of Hong Kong State), (Electoral alliance) start forming the Cabinet, (MPs concurrently Ministers) God Save the Queen/King - Hong Kong If "bandit CCP " open fire. because UK is part of NATO, so USA must to help! India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia,New Zealand (Commonwealth of Nations) to help morally NATO Allies + (Commonwealth of Nations) led his army into the "Asian"
AUKUS PRIORITY FOR AUSTRALIAN NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES![]()
Within AUKUS – the new enhanced trilateral security partnership between Australia, the US and UK – the first priority is to acquire nuclear-powered submarine technology for the Royal Australian Navy, leveraging decades of experience from our new AUKUS partners.![]()
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This fleet of at least 8 new nuclear-powered submarines are to be built in Adelaide. Building the submarines in Australia is the best way to ensure that our industry has the ability to maintain, repair and upgrade the submarines during their service life.![]()
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While diesel-electric submarines have some specific advantages over nuclear-powered submarines, the new nuclear technology that does not require refuelling significantly enhances our nation’s ability to operate these submarines and contribute to shared security objectives in the Indo-Pacific, including our ability to deter or defeat threats. This technology allows submarines to avoid some of the limitations that face conventional submarines on weapons storage, speed and endurance. They can stay completely submerged for months, limiting the opportunities for detection by adversaries, lowering the risks for ADF personnel.![]()
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The AUKUS partners are examining the full suite of requirements necessary to maintain a naval fleet that underpin nuclear stewardship and demonstrate a clear pathway to becoming a responsible and reliable steward of this technology – including waste, regulation, training facilities, basing, workforce, and force structure. A Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce in Defence Australia will lead this work.![]()
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The new enhanced trilateral security partnership, #AUKUS, is an historic opportunity for Australia, the UK and US to protect shared values and promote security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.![]()
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More information: bit.ly/2XnX9YV
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Also by having nuclear power, electricity can be free less supplying charges to all residential and industrial areas as to superficially increased energy costs right now
About time.... GO AUSTRALIA. Sorry snow flakes your out of the picture.
Isn't it true The french model has nuclear power and we decided to remodel it and THEN complain about it?
Great to see most important, pro-active decisions made by our government.
steam powered subs have been tried before,so obviously silly.
About time we have waited over 50 years for this 😂
And your biggest trading partner will pay for it....lol..
Do we get the USA's Sonar Technology?
I'm all for nuclear-powered subs but it's a stupid costly time consuming idea to build them in Australia.
Splendid achievement but time is still the concern.
cool
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AUKUS SEES SOUTH AUSTRALIA REAFFIRMED AS AUSTRALIA’S KEY NAVAL SHIPBUILDING HUB![]()
This morning’s joint announcement between Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo), UK Prime Minister Johnson and US President Biden saw the beginning of the new enhanced trilateral security partnership – AUKUS.![]()
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This new partnership is an historic opportunity for our three nations to protect shared values and promote security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.![]()
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The first major initiative of AUKUS is to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia – built here in South Australia. Work now begins between the partners to develop the optimal pathway to deliver this new nuclear-powered submarine capability as soon as practicable.![]()
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More information on AUKUS: bit.ly/2XmJxOk![]()
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Also announced today, the Full-Cycle Docking (FCD) of the Royal Australian Navy’s current Collins Class submarine fleet will remain in SA and the Life-of-Type Extension (LOTE) for the Collins Class fleet will be conducted in SA providing continuity and capability. More information: bit.ly/3nDV4DA
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I do hope that there is a plan in place to transition the 300 odd workers from Naval Group to a new structure, perhaps within ASC, perhaps not. Good news on the whole but I know everyone in Naval group that went to bed last night secure in their jobs is now probably feeling pretty gutted.
Please don't be offended, but I think this is the most crazy mad decision our country could be making. We don't need nuclear or diesel submarines - we need both! Each has their advantages and disadvantages - stealth, long range, small size, ability to hide in shallow inlets, or deep under water. You need all these features. You also need a lot of submarines if you want to defeat an enemy. By way of background, in five and a half years of war Germany made 1156 U-Boats. How many are our contracts for, and how many are our potential adversaries building? I just had a long chat tonight with someone involved in submarine building, I gather that it all got shut down overnight, it is a lockout. Contractors won't get paid, people have lost jobs. We can easily afford both options. Keep the French contract. Build the US/UK ones as well. We are going to need every submarine we can get.
AUKUS 🇦🇺 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 ... See MoreSee Less
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