Labor Shortages Hit Shipbuilding Industry
WA-based shipbuilder Austal said that it would use its newly acquired Margate shipyard near Hobart to supply lucrative military contracts in preference to its WA shipyard in Henderson because of the shortage of skilled labour here and indications that the shortage would worsen. The 56m border patrol boat HMAS Launceston, which Austal built in Tasmania and officially commissioned this week, was the 12th under its soon-to-be-completed contract for the Australian Defence Force.[Source: The Sunday Times]