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August 25, 2026
The projected cost of the Henderson Defence Precinct remains unclear as Premier Roger Cook declared it will become the "largest naval shipbuilding maintenance hub in the southern hemisphere".
Defence Minister Richard Marles dodged questions about the eventual price tag and how it would be paid for while joining the Prime Minister to unveil the boundaries for the facility, which will help support nuclear-powered AUKUS submarines.
"The selection of this site is a major step towards establishing a world-class sovereign shipbuilding and sustainment hub right here in Western Australia," Anthony Albanese declared after touring the soon to be revamped shipyard on Monday.
"This will support thousands of well-paid, highly skilled jobs and deliver continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in WA for generations to come."
Mr Cook praised the deal struck between the Government and the Commonwealth, declaring: "Today, we are firing the starting gun on the largest naval shipbuilding maintenance hub in the southern hemisphere."
Mr Marles was then asked about reports in The West Australian that the estimates for the project had risen from an initial figure of $25 billion to anywhere up to $70b.
"The sort of money that you're seeing in today's newspapers, I mean, we're not imagining any of that but we are really clear that what we have committed in terms of the Budget gets us to the milestones that are in the medium term, and we're well aware that future investment will need to be made, and we're preparing for that as well," Mr Marles said.
"We have the $12b commitment in respect of what we imagine to be a $25b equipment over the course of the decade, and that funding and beyond is something that we will work through in the Federal Budget."
When pressed on how additional future costs for the Henderson precinct would be funded, the Defence Minister insisted it would be "something that we will work through in the Federal Budget".
Last year, the Defence Department confirmed that the $25b estimate for the Henderson Defence Precinct was "roughed-up numbers" developed during initial studies in 2023-24 and flagged the "figure will evolve as we mature our design".
Shadow defence minister James Paterson took aim at the Federal Government's response and demanded Labor be upfront about what the latest estimates of cost for the facility are.
"Henderson is one of Australia's largest and most important defence projects," Senator Paterson said.
"It's critical to the success of AUKUS.
"Australians deserve more than incoherent waffle about whether or not it has blown out by almost 300 per cent to $70b.
"If that figure is even remotely correct we need to understand exactly why."
Under the new plans a designated area for AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine sustainment facilities will be in the central sector of the revamped Henderson site, while naval shipbuilding and ship sustainment will be located to the south.