Tassie company in frigate deal call-up

A TASMANIAN company has been short-listed to provide fabricated sheet metal to BAE Systems, which has won the $35 billion contract to build nine hi-tech, anti-submarine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was at Direct Edge, in Burnie, yesterday to tour the facilities and announce the company had pre-qualified to be part of the contract to build the new Type 26 global combat ships. The vessels will be constructed in Adelaide and Direct Edge CEO Diane Edgerton said the business was looking for 25 new employees because of the pending deal to provide steel products.

Ms Bishop said the confidence among businesses in Tasmania at the moment was “palpable”.

“You can feel it and I am hearing it everywhere I go,” Ms Bishop said.

This week the owners of the Avebury nickel mine near Zeehan announced they planned to restart operations in January, a new laminated timber mill will soon be under construction at Hampshire, near Burnie, and construction of a $280 million new wind farm at Granville Harbour is about to start.

Braddon’s Liberal by-election candidate Brett Whiteley said it was time for people who had long considered coming to Tasmania for the lifestyle to make the move.

“Up until now it has been a perceived lack of employment opportunities which have stopped people making that decision,” Mr Whiteley said.

“But not any more — the jobs are flowing in this region and the potential here is enormous.”