Williamstown's owner, BAE Systems Australia, had told union delegates it would not be issuing any redundancies before Christmas to its 1100-strong workforce. However, the future remains bleak.

The shipyard's workers are finishing fitting out a Landing Helicopter Dock, and have a few months work left on the Air Warfare Destroyer project.

Both projects are expected to finish early this year, leaving the shipyard without work, said Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union delegate Leon White, a boilermaker at the yard.

"There's nothing coming up. Once the second LHD's gone, we've got a few more AWD blocks after that.

"Everyone's just walking around on eggshells."

White is 43, and has worked at the yard for four years. After securing the job a couple of years ago he bought a house. He now holds concerns for his ability to continue paying it off.

"It's a worry. At the moment there's not much work about."

The Abbott government recently announced it was excluding local shipyards from tendering for a contract to build two new naval supply ships because the local yards lacked capacity and had poor labour productivity rates.

The AMWU has called on the government to reverse that decision, and bring plans to build a new fleet of frigates to maintain employment at current levels.

In response to a detailed list of questions about the shipyard's future, BAE issued a statement through a spokesman.

"There are clearly pressures and decisions are required in the short term, but with the right strategy between government and the industry we believe we can manage an outcome that will not only retain much of our workforce but also strengthen shipbuilding capabilities over the long term," the statement read.

"We have written to the new minister and stand ready to meet with him at his convenience."

Political leaders spent Wednesday pointing fingers at each other over the issue.

Newly-installed defence minister Kevin Andrews dismissed fears of job losses as speculation, and said the Coalition government was committed to increasing spending on defence.

"The former government's decisions led to 119 defence projects being delayed, 43 projects being reduced in scope and eight projects cancelled, risking critical capability gaps.

"Reports of massive job losses in the industry are speculative and nothing more than cheap Labor scaremongering tactics."

The minister said  the government hoped to spend $4.2 billion on defence over the next four years, subject to the outcomes of the 2015 Defence White Paper  being prepared by an external panel.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the local manufacturing jobs were "worth fighting for". He said Victoria, NSW and South Australia, the three "big manufacturing states with a defence procurement capability" would work together to put forward the "best argument" to the federal government for manufacturing locally.

"I think this is a very simple issue. If you don't support the strategic industry then it will die. Thousands of jobs will be gone and they will never come back," he said.

"My message is very simple to Mr Abbott: Now's the time to place an order. Place an order, save these jobs. We can build the best defence technology in the world and we have been and we will if only the Abbott government will put Australian jobs first."

Acting leader of the Opposition, Penny Wong, accused the government of inaction over the lack of work for the shipyards.

"Labor had a plan to bridge the 'valley of death' by bringing forward the construction of new supply ships and patrol boats, as well as the future frigates to be built here in Australia.

"Instead of taking action to protect these jobs, the Abbott government has spent months denigrating the skill and professionalism of the workforce."