Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to bring to the House's attention this MPI today and the continuing consequences of the last Labor government's defence spending cuts. This is about facts, and the facts remain that the last Labor government cut the guts out of Defence, and it affected the ability of our personnel to do their job.

The Minister for Defence Industry said today in question time that the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that we need sovereign capability, and he said:

By contrast, the Albanese government is backing … manufacturing …

The problem is that, under this minister, defence industry is in paralysis. Small and medium enterprises in defence industry right around this country are receiving nothing. Small decisions are not being made. There have been no program decisions made by this minister, the Minister for Defence Industry, since Labor came to power 10 months ago.

The member opposite whom I just quoted mentioned the war in Ukraine, but he might understand as well that, since the war in Ukraine started, there have been over one million 155-millimetre artillery rounds fired—one million rounds fired in Ukraine. So I ask the Australian government: since the war in Ukraine started, how many orders have you placed for 155-millimetre artillery shells? None. Zero. Not one order. Guess what: under our coalition government, we set up a factory in Queensland, set up as a partnership between Rheinmetall and NIOA, that produces these rounds, and this government hasn't even ordered one round, when over a million rounds have been fired in Ukraine. The problem with that is that we go right to the back of the queue, because countries right around the world, since the war in Ukraine started a year ago, have been starting to order. They understand. This government waits till after the DSR. They'll place their order— 'Oh, yes, we might deliver that in three years for you.' So we have a failure here by this government, an absolute failure. They are in paralysis, and the small and medium enterprises in defence industry have received nothing from this government. They won't meet with them, they don't attend shows, absolutely nothing—all talk.

The minister opposite comes into question time every day and acts like the question time clown. He actually tries to make jokes. What did he say today? He said that the former coalition government was the worst national security government in our nation's history. This, from the member for Corio, who, between 2007 and 2013, was guilty of cutting since 1938, as was the member for Sydney, as was the member for Grayndler, the current Prime Minister, as was the member for McEwen and as was the member for Kingsford Smith, the assistant minister, who is the only minister here today; the others couldn't be bothered to be here to listen.

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