Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I'm glad to speak on this MPI and highlight the importance of women to our economy. I've only been in this place since 2013—not as long as some but a bit longer than others. Every time Labor gets an opportunity in this place, they talk down the opportunities for women in this country. But we want to talk women up, because they have a critical role in Australia's economy. Women are tired of those opposite using them as a political football. We've seen once again that, for Labor's spokesperson it's all about theatrics, it's all about using women as a political football. I, for one, am tired of that, and women in Australia who are in business, women who are trying to get ahead, know that the Morrison government has their back.

I want to talk about my portfolio and the impact and benefits of the defence industry to our economy. We are well aware of the need to grow our talent pool and to give women every opportunity to embark on an exciting career in the our defence industry. A couple of weeks ago, during National Science Week, I had the pleasure of having a call from my Perth office with a young woman named Tess Horton. What a cracker she is! Tess is a 20-year-old student at the University of Newcastle and the bright future of our STEM workforce. She is one of eight women, studying at three universities across Australia, who were awarded a science, technology, engineering and mathematics scholarship by Defence. If Tess is the future of our defence industry workforce and Australia's broader STEM workforce then it is a very bright future indeed. She spoke to me about how excited she was that Defence was giving her this opportunity. It is vital that we inspire more young women like Tess to go down this path.

The defence industry is growing fantastic new opportunities for women growing a small business in Australia. Our country is at the dawn of a new era of opportunity for SMEs in the defence industry sector. It's going to provide thousands and thousands of jobs in the defence industry. It's great to see these new enterprises for women in the sector. Last Friday, I was thrilled to join the Launch on Northbourne event in Canberra—virtually, of course, because I was in Perth at the time. It was a University of New South Wales event, showcasing innovation and defence and cyber areas that are developing new commercial ideas to improve Australian security.

One of the presenters was a lady called Amy Ormrod, who was with a company called Terra Schwartz Cyber. This company is developing an Australian cybersecurity system which is supported by a $420,000 defence sovereign industrial capability priority grant. It's developing an Australian sovereign cyberworthiness system. It was great to engage with her, albeit by Zoom, to hear how women like her are helping to grow Australia's defence industry systems for the future. It's women just like Amy who are the face of women in our sector. They can demonstrate the opportunities we now have in small business right across the country. We are all doing that so that we can knock down the barriers that women do face, and we are promoting these exciting opportunities in our defence industry.

That is the case right across our government. Our government's overarching objective is to return Australians—men and women—to work and to boost prosperity as Australia emerges from the COVID-19 crisis. The 2020-21 budget provides $98 billion of response and recovery support under the COVID-19 response package and the JobMaker plan, bringing the government's overall support to $507 billion. Increasing women's workforce participation is an economic and social priority. The JobMaker plan aims to drive down the unemployment rate and drive stronger economic recovery for all Australians, men and women, in Australia.

In addition to the budget, the 2020 Women's Economic Security Statement, which significantly builds on the 2018 statement, acknowledges progress made as well as the barriers that women continue to face from time to time. The WESS builds on the government's COVID-19 economic recovery plan by providing the targeted, tailored, specific support needed to help women overcome barriers to full participation in the economy and society. The 2020 WESS includes a wide range of measures to create new jobs, support more women in work, expand opportunities for business and build the skills Australia needs to support accelerated economic recovery and growth.

I would like to go back to my portfolio again, because we know that defence and defence industry is really a barometer for women in the workforce, and for some time now defence has been taking a losing role in building a strong record of inclusion. We know that women are absolutely vital in our quest to grow the defence industry workforce. So we are ensuring that we have access to the best talent from all parts of the diverse Australian community to build that very important defence industry workforce. I note that within the Defence portfolio there are specialist recruiting teams just for women. These teams compromise of current serving defence women who promote careers in defence and mentor other women as part of the recruiting process.

In 2019-20 defence's efforts to further gender equality have specifically focused on women's representation in leadership roles. Defence has been recognised for its commitment to gender equity, receiving the Athena SWAN bronze award in 2020. Congratulations! What an amazing achievement. The Athena SWAN awards are an initiative under the Science in Australia Gender Equity program, which aims to promote equity and diversity in STEM. The bronze awards have recognised defence's commitment to advancing the careers of women not only in STEM fields but also across all defence groups and services.

In February this year, defence sponsored the inaugural Catalysing Gender Equity conference. It is committed to championing the Women in STEM Decadal Plan, a shared vision for the STEM sector to attract, retain and advance girls and women in STEM education and careers.

Over the past 18 months in my role as the Minister for Defence Industry it has indeed been a great pleasure to be able to meet the captains of industry, especially the women, leading the charge in our very, very important defence industry. In October last year I travelled to the United States and visited Heat Treatment Australia's Los Angeles office. There I was immediately blown away by the incredible work of Karen Stanton and her family. For those who don't know Karen, she is the director of Brisbane based Heat Treatment Australia and she is a pillar of Australia's defence industry. Heat Treatment Australia is a key supplier in our global F-35 program and is one of the beneficiaries of our government's continued investment in this truly global program. Karen has continued to do an outstanding job in her position as director of HTA, and she's expanded its operations and broadened its horizons in our defence industry, going way beyond our shores.

I would also like to single out Gabby Costigan, who is the CEO of BAE Systems Australia. Gabby is yet another fine example of how the Australian defence industry is leading the charge in opening up greater senior leadership opportunities for women. For those who don't know Gabby's background, she is a former colonel in the Australian Army and led logistics operations for both the Australian and the US governments internationally. Following her distinguished career, there was no-one more deserving to take up the role of CEO of BAE Systems Australia in 2018. She is now responsible for one of the largest defence companies in Australia, supporting our men and women in uniform.

I'd also like to recognise Sarah Cullens, another outstanding supporter of the Australian defence industry and the work of the Morrison government in our defence industry. Sarah took the leap of faith and started up her own small business providing specialist advice to defence businesses. Sarah is the wife of a current serving member of our Defence Force and raises her children right here in Canberra. I've always valued Sarah's incredible contribution and insights into defence industry, and thank her for her incredible sacrifice to take care of her family as her husband has served his country.

I hope I've given you a sense of how important defence and also the industry called defence industry is in Australia. And I'm so proud of the opportunities that we are giving women in defence and defence industry. I want women in this country to know that, on this side of the chamber, we back them every day. There are opportunities, and we will be there for you when the others will just complain. (Time expired)

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