Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the minister knows, the government is spending an unprecedented $200 billion in the coming 10 years on our defence capability. This spend will transform our Defence Force's capabilities and make an enormous difference to our security in the coming years. The government is committed to ensuring that as much of this spending as possible flows into Australian businesses, so this procurement will also prove to be a massive boost to local industry.

I want to see some of that $200 billion spent on the Sunshine Coast. We do not have the facilities to lay down the keel of a frigate or to build an entire fighter jet; however, we do have an underutilised aerodrome in Caloundra, vacant industrial property, a great many retired Defence personnel and more and more technological innovators in our community. Our small to medium enterprises are perfectly poised to deliver important parts of the defence capability that our country needs.

There are already companies in my electorate of Fisher that are exploiting these opportunities. HeliMods in Caloundra have recently won a contract for $154,000 to deliver wet decks for 14 MH-60R 'Romeo' Navy helicopters. HeliMods already employ 25 skilled workers on the Sunshine Coast. If they are able to build on this contract and win more Defence work, they intend to employ many more. The minister will remember that I visited Will Shrapnel and the team with him just last month to see their manufacturing facilities. Another company in the same part of my electorate, Praesidium Global, have recently won a larger contract, for $1.3 million. Praesidium are designing and manufacturing an entirely new type of unmanned ground vehicle, which will help to keep our service men and women safe and out of harm's way. This kind of innovation is exactly why the coast is the perfect location for more Defence contracts in the future. A third business in my electorate who are also working with the ADF are Eniquest. Based in Warana near my own electorate office, Eniquest build military-grade DC and AC power generators and auxiliary power units which are used in our Bushmaster vehicles. Eniquest have not only been supplying these power units to the ADF, but they have also been able to enjoy a new contract with the Singapore military, announced only a couple of weeks ago. The University of the Sunshine Coast has also been successful in winning a multimillion-dollar contract, to research new pavements for runways for the ADF. This is a great sign of engagement between universities, higher education, and the Defence Force.

Helicopter parts, remote vehicles, power generators and research—these are the kinds of projects that small Sunshine Coast businesses and the University of the Sunshine Coast are perfect for. I want to see a Sunshine Coast that is no longer dependent on tourism, building and construction. I want to see our small businesses given the opportunity to make a contribution to the nation's defence capabilities. That is why I organised the inaugural Sunshine Coast Defence Industry Forum in May. I am very grateful to the Minister for Defence Industry for joining me for this event. One hundred and seventy local businesses registered for the forum to hear the minister speak and to learn more about what they could do to win a Defence contract. The interest among small businesses in Fisher was very clear. The Innovation Centre at the University of the Sunshine Coast was full, and a great many had questions for the minister and for representatives of the Centre for Defence Industry Capability, Defence Science and Technology Group.

Small businesses see the opportunities here and they want to be involved. Small businesses face challenges, of course, that are different from their larger counterparts. Their lower cash flows and smaller cash reserves are one example. The Turnbull government already helps with this challenge with its Supplier Pay On-Time or Pay Interest Policy. The government pays all businesses within 30 days on contracts valued up to $1 million. If it fails, it pays interest on the balance. In 97 per cent of these contracts the government now pays on time. We are acting as an example in our payment terms for all businesses and I encourage all companies to follow suit. It will never be easy for a small business to get their first Defence contract. It is right that it takes flexibility, perseverance and vision. But government should do everything it can to make the process as easy as it possibly can not only in the Defence portfolio but across government procurement. I hope that the minister agrees. I would like to ask the minister what the government is doing to make it easier for small business to engage and to contract not just with the Defence department and the ADF but with government across all portfolios.

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