Hundreds of jobs at the Williamstown naval shipbuilding yard in Victoria are in jeopardy from the so-called "valley of death" which is already starting to grip the industry, a Senate inquiry has heard.
BAE Systems Australia director William Saltzer told the inquiry in Adelaide on Tuesday that the company had already let some sub-contractors and permanent employees go but many more of the 800 working on the landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships were also at risk.
He said the company's work on the LHD and air warfare destroyer projects was due to wind down in early 2016 and it had "nothing in the order book after that".
"The valley of death has already begun," he said referring to the period when current work declines in the industry ahead of the start of any new projects, including the next fleet of Australian submarines.
Mr Saltzer said nothing had been done to stem the loss of jobs across the sector and he found it extraordinary that Australian producers had been excluded from the tender process for two new Naval supply ships.
He said Australia had not learnt from the past and from other countries by moving to rationalise its ship building industry to ensure a viable and continuous flow of work well into the future.
There was no doubt the Australian Navy would continue to need new ships but industry could only produce when the government purchased, Mr Saltzer said.
"Allow us to produce without the peaks and valleys," he told the Senate committee inquiring into the future of Australia's naval shipbuilding industry.
In terms of the future of Williamstown, Mr Saltzer said BAE was "going through a very serious analysis of the viability of that shipyard".
The inquiry also heard that Adelaide-based shipbuilder ASC had met or was about to meet with groups from Germany, France and Japan that were vying to construct the next fleet of Australian submarines as part of the federal government's competitive evaluation process.
ASC general manager of business and strategic development Andy Keough revealed the company had been instructed by defence to act fairly and equally with each of the groups and said it was not in a position to pick a preferred producer.
"From ASC's perspective we're agnostic in relation to whether it's Japanese, Germany or French. We'll work any of those providers," he said.
"But there's no tender out at the moment so we can't put in a bid."
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