Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

That didn't seem very enthusiastic, Richard!

Mr Marles interjecting—

I rise before the House today as the first Minister for Defence Industry, to provide an overview and to update the House on the Turnbull government's historic investment of $195 billion over the next decade in Australia's defence capability.

Particularly, I would like to outline how this government is ensuring that Australian industry can grow and continue to play a vital role in our defence future.

Defence industry is our national endeavour. Our mission is simple: to guarantee our national security and ensure that Australia can play its part in protecting peace in our own region, in Asia, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean; and to use the defence dollar to drive local jobs growth and a high-technology, advanced manufacturing future for Australia. A vibrant, thriving and growing defence industry sector does not just buttress our nation's defence; it also provides and supports jobs for thousands of Australians. As the defence industry grows, new jobs will be created in the economy, from naval architects and electrical engineers to plumbers, construction workers, shop assistants and labourers.

A strong Australian defence industry is key to our economic prosperity, growing and using the skills and innovation that characterise our defence industries to work to form the basis of the smart, high-tech advanced manufacturing of the 21st century that the Prime Minister so often talks about.

As he said last year, 'What we are doing in defence industry is completely transformational.' He said, 'Australia is entering the single biggest period of defence construction in its history.'

We recognise the creative, innovative and agile companies in Australia who engage with our various defence projects either directly or indirectly.

Since re-election in July 2016, this government has hit the ground running.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Thank you. I thank my colleagues for their support.

Land 400 downselect

Within days of taking the portfolio, BAE Systems Australia and Rheinmetall were shortlisted to compete for the Land 400 Phase 2 project. This iconic project will acquire 225 combat reconnaissance vehicles and help us win the land battle. The total acquisition cost is up to $5 billion.

In August the Commonwealth signed contracts with the two short-listed tenderers to take part in the risk mitigation activity. The test and evaluation program is now underway and it will see vehicles offered by the two companies undergo blast and ballistic testing to make sure they are good enough to transport our military personnel.

Hawkei

Thales is building the Hawkei, a next-generation protected vehicle, which represents an entirely new capability for the Army, providing a similar level of protection as the Bushmaster at about half the weight.

Late last year the project reached a major milestone—the handover to Defence of the first of 10 vehicles to roll off Thales's production line in Bendigo.

These pilot Hawkei vehicles pave the way for full-rate production in 2018 and represent a triumph of both defence capability and the country's burgeoning defence industry.

Hawkei production will involve around 170 jobs in the Bendigo region alone.

It is expected approximately 60 new jobs will be created in Thales's supply chain.

The Turnbull government is delivering after the $1.3 billion contract was signed with Thales in October 2015 to produce 1,100 Hawkei vehicles and more than 1,000 companion trailers.

Land Forces c onference

I have made visiting key defence industry hubs a priority since taking on this role.

I have already visited Henderson, Brisbane, Newcastle, Bendigo and Melbourne, and plan to visit other locations including Burnie and Bankstown. In August, I was hosted in Cairns by my good friend the member for Leichhardt—who is never short of coming forward asking for defence projects in his electorate—who took me to see the shipbuilding facilities at Norship Marine and Tropical Reef Shipyard.

It is a highly optimistic sector at the moment, and this was particularly clear at the Land Forces conference held in Adelaide in early September.

This conference was by far the largest that they have ever held.

It brought together 13,500 military leaders from 22 different armies and innovative defence companies representing 23 countries, and they had over 500 industry exhibitors who showcased their world-class technology.

It was exciting to see so many Australian companies connecting with defence.

It was also good to see the member for Corangamite there, who is interested in advocating for jobs in her electorate, particularly in the Land 400 space.

Future submarine project

Acting on the findings of the 2016 Defence white paper the Turnbull government has determined that Australia needs 12 regionally superior submarines with a high degree of interoperability with the United States—craft that will provide our nation with an effective deterrent and an ability to play an active part in antisubmarine warfare operations in our region. In September we signed the first contract ahead of schedule with DCNS to mobilise the resources needed to develop our regionally superior Future Submarine and commence its design. At the same time we announced Lockheed Martin Australia as the combat system integrator—again, ahead of schedule.

On 20 December 2016, the intergovernmental agreement between France and Australia was signed, which defines the principles, the framework and initial means of support and cooperation between the two governments—again, ahead of schedule. As a crucial part of the process we have already commenced work to maximise the opportunity for Australian industry involvement in the project and early planning for the construction of the submarines here in Australia.

Future frigates and offshore patrol vessels

The government has also announced plans to build nine antisubmarine warfare frigates. It is set to start construction in Adelaide by 2020, which will cost $35 billion. The future frigate and offshore patrol vessel programs will directly create over 2,500 jobs for Australians and will indirectly support the jobs of many thousands more. The $3 billion to $4 billion program to construct 12 offshore patrol vessels will begin in Adelaide in 2018 and then transition to Henderson in Western Australia.

The OPV project remains on track, with the request for tender being released on 30 November 2016. This will see the designers team up with Australian shipbuilders to try and win this iconic project. We are delivering on our commitment—spending more money locally where possible, boosting growth, creating jobs and giving our military the best equipment we can.

Workshops

We are committed to giving Australian companies as much opportunity as possible to be part of these future defence projects. Over the past few months and for many more months to come, local companies are being given the chance find out more about the opportunities available during a series of Land 400, future frigates and offshore patrol vessel workshops being held nationwide, including in the member for Swan's electorate. He in fact opened that on 2 November. Thousands of Australian small and medium-sized enterprises have registered to participate in the Defence facilitated showcase workshops—a chance for Australian suppliers to get their slice of a very big pie. It is critical that we provide Australian companies with opportunities to enter this supply chain.

Naval shipbuilding plan

The Turnbull government will release a naval shipbuilding plan imminently that brings together all of the elements of the government's continuous naval shipbuilding strategy—the first in Australia's history. The government's unprecedented commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding will support the strategic and capability needs of Defence; provide a viable, permanent shipbuilding industry; provide certainty for the shipbuilding workforce; deliver value for money; build commercial confidence; and promote the use of global best practice. Defence is conducting a strategic review of the workforce, skills and infrastructure needs at Osborne and at Henderson to inform the naval shipbuilding plan's development.

The government is committed to maximising Australian industry involvement in the naval construction programs for future submarines, future frigates and offshore patrol vessels. I look forward to revisiting Austal's shipyard at Henderson in the near future with the member for Canning to see the rollout of Australian defence capability. I also acknowledge that the member for Canning, as a former serviceman and probably the most recent serviceman in the parliament, has a deep interest in defence industry opportunities for his region and for his constituents. He is not here. Never mind.

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