Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

from the mining and construction boom to a new economy—one that takes advantage of all the opportunities in the growing global economy, particularly here in our region. And it depends on innovation.

Tomorrow, the government will make another critical investment in innovation and the jobs of the future with the release of the Defence white paper. It will set out the plan for securing our nation decades into the future. It will set out how we will give our Defence Forces the resources they need and the capabilities they need to keep us safe. And, critically, this historic commitment is about jobs, innovation and regional Australia.

The Defence white paper will provide incentives for Australian businesses to drive advances in innovation and technology in many fields, including cybersecurity and aeronautics. It will deliver jobs and investment in advanced, high-tech manufacturing. It will generate new economic activity in many parts of regional Australia, where Defence communities and Defence industries are so often based. The Defence white paper will build upon and be utterly consistent with our National Innovation and Science Agenda, investing in our local Defence industries and putting them at the cutting edge of technology. The government tomorrow will provide full and fully costed details of why a significant increase in our defence expenditure is important—vital—to prepare for the emerging security challenges globally and regionally and why it is necessary to address the failings of recent Labor governments, under whom defence spending as a share of GDP fell to its lowest levels since 1938.

But key to this commitment is the priority we give to ensuring every available defence dollar wherever possible is leveraged to promote a strong, innovative, globally competitive Australian defence industry. We have to overturn the notion that a defence budget is provided simply to buy equipment, ships and planes from overseas. Our security depends upon a strong defence industry. We are committed to that. It is vital to our security. It is vital to our innovation agenda. It is vital to securing our safety and our prosperity in the decades ahead.

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