Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a very important project for our nation, the LAND 400 defence program, a multibillion-dollar program to deliver 225 armed combat vehicles for the Army. In September, I celebrated the announcement by Team Sentinel that, if it is successful in its tender, it plans to establish an integration and turret manufacturing facility in Geelong. This was a great announcement for our city and a great announcement for Corangamite. Team Sentinel's confidence in Geelong and our future as an advanced manufacturing powerhouse is very exciting. Part of Team Sentinel's bid is to deliver a very high proportion of Australian industry content, which, as we know, is so important for local jobs and future local jobs. Team Sentinel's modelling shows there will be around 300 jobs, direct and indirect, created locally with a total of around 500 direct and indirect jobs created across Victoria. Geelong companies and Corangamite companies will have the opportunity to play a vital role in this project, including in relation to component and parts supply, integration of Australian communications sensor and weapons systems, engineering and testing facilities and the like.

I have also met with another very large defence player which is bidding for the LAND 400 project. They are intending to construct a $100 million innovation and advanced manufacturing facility. They have not decided on the location but, as I conveyed in no uncertain terms, with our region's skills in vehicles assembly, advanced manufacturing and defence, Corangamite and the Geelong region is very much the right place to base this facility.

Today I want to raise a very major concern in relation to opportunities in defence in Victoria. I ask an important question: what is the Victorian government doing? What is its plan?

Its advocacy on securing defence projects has been, regrettably, next to nothing. Today, I reveal that the Victorian Defence Procurement Office based at Deakin University, in Waurn Ponds, is not much more than an empty shell. The VDPO was announced by Victorian Premier Andrews in March 2015. It was an election commitment of $5 million. It is meant to have state-wide responsibility and act on behalf of all Victorian based defence companies, marketing the skill and capability of Victorian and Geelong manufacturers to the largest defence contractors in the world. Yet we have seen very little action.

Five million dollars was provided over four years at $1.3 million a year. So far, it is made up of three people, two cars and an office at Deakin University, at Waurn Ponds, at a cost of $550,000 a year. From what I understand, there are no investment programs, no projects being delivered, there is no plan for Defence jobs and there are no decisions made on how this additional money—there is about $2.8 million—is going to be spent.

Compared with the slick operation at Defence SA, Victoria's efforts in securing Defence projects, in advocating for our region and for our state, have been an absolute embarrassment. As I mentioned, there is $2.8 million to spend and no plan. If Premier Daniel Andrews cannot work out what to do, I call on him to allocate that money to the Geelong Region Job Connections program, which is doing fantastic work on the ground delivering grassroots job-creation programs. This was a very big commitment by the Andrews government—$5 million, basing this procurement office in Geelong—and it is incredibly disappointing to see so little action on the ground and no plan.

Victoria's defence industry has an annual turnover of about $1.5 billion. It includes more than 300 businesses and directly employs about 6,000 people who make equipment and provide services for defence activities. The defence industry in Victoria has enormous potential and skills, and yet we are seeing so little action from the Victorian government. I call on the government to announce its plan and, if it has no plan, to allocate this money where we can spend it. Thank you very much.

Question agreed to

Federation Chamber adjourned at 12:47

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