Shipbuilding jobs 'could have been saved'

More than 600 Adelaide shipbuilding jobs could have been saved if the Commonwealth hadn't awarded a contract for two new navy supply ships to Spain, federal Labor MP Nick Champion says.

The ships will be built by Spanish company Navantia for $646 million, with $130.4 million Australian content for communications, the combat system and on-board cranes.

Mr Champion says the government is condemning 640 ASC workers, who will progressively lose their jobs by the end of next year to a tough jobs market, all the while "patting itself on the back" for last month's local submarine build deal.