Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I start by acknowledging the member for Herbert for putting up this motion, for his service to our country and, of course, the service of all the personnel at Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera in the heart of the Ryan electorate who all serve our nation admirably.

There are a lot of defence families in the Ryan electorate, both serving personnel and ex-servicemen and their families, who rely on defence industries. The serving personnel rely on our Australian defence industries to have the right tools for the job and our ex-service personnel rely on defence industries often, as the member for Herbert said, as part of future employment.

Listening to the Labor speakers on this particular motion just emphasised why it was so important for the member for Herbert to put up this particular motion: because Labor members still cannot face up to their record when it comes to defence industry spending, and it is an appalling record. The previous Labor government sat idle for six years and oversaw a depletion in the Australian defence industry which was shameful.

In stark contrast, it's been this Liberal-National government which has implemented a 10-year plan, the Defence Industrial Capability Plan, to build Australia's defence industry and create thousands of Australian jobs while boosting capability. But, if that was not enough for the Chamber, let me give you some numbers. Under Labor, defence funding was gutted by $18 billion and investment fell to just 1.56 per cent of GDP.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Member for Moreton, this is the lowest level since 1938—inexcusable, if we are going to maintain a strong defence industry in this country. In their last three years in government, from 2010 to 2013, the Labor Party cut defence spending by 17.9 per cent in real terms—extraordinary. That is staggering: 119 defence projects were delayed under the previous Labor government, 43 were reduced and eight projects were cancelled. This risks critical capability gaps.

In contrast, we know where the Morrison government, the Liberal-National Party, stands when it comes to supporting Australian defence industry. We stand on their side. We stand on the side of having the right capabilities for our servicemen and women and we stand on the side of creating jobs for Australians. The defence industry is something that we can do well, and we will do well because of our record investment of more than $200 billion in Australia's defence capability.

As a result of the 2016 Defence white paper, the Liberal-National government is delivering capability where and when it is needed, ensuring that the Defence Force has the capability it needs, including new naval vessels, cutting-edge cybertechnology and superior aircraft. At the same time, we are maximising the involvement of Australian defence industry businesses to deliver this capability and create new jobs for hardworking Australians, because it's this Morrison government that wants to create jobs for Australians.

The member for Herbert is absolutely right: these are some ideal jobs for our veteran community as well. It was only a week ago that I was at the Gaythorne RSL talking to Soldier On, talking to the gentlemen at the RSL who undertake welfare activities. They were giving me the same message that the member for Herbert has given today, which is that these veterans are far from broken but they do have highly specialised skills in some circumstances. What they need is the support to retrain. Defence industry jobs are the perfect example of where they can put their highly specialised knowledge to use and also retrain in skills so that if they want to leave the defence industry they can and they'll have transferable skills out there in the rest of the job market.

Currently, there are over 30,000 Australians employed in our defence industry, and this number continues to grow as industry takes up opportunities. There are an additional 3,500 local Australian businesses that help maintain our border security and keep Australians safe. I'm pleased to say that Queensland is playing a leading role in this record $200 billion investment by the Morrison government. In my own electorate of Ryan, it is playing a cutting-edge role through the University of Queensland. Over $3 million has been provided by the Morrison government for UQ researchers to address some highly complex defence problems which defy conventional solutions and require cross-disciplinary research across institutional and organisational boundaries. In Ryan, we're putting our best minds towards helping solve some of the biggest problems for the defence industry.

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