Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

AIC is extremely important. The AIC process is extremely important, because through the LAND400 procurement process—which I think, and which many before have said, has been bungled—there will be AIC, and local businesses can benefit can benefit from this, local businesses in Townsville.

But going from 450 vehicles to 129 really puts our local SMEs out in the cold. Where the process is being delayed and delayed, the big players can stay there but the SMEs, the ones who are waiting on these contracts, cannot wait. So we're seeing people lose jobs. It's extremely important that defence procurement looks at locals. And we heard that at Land Forces, but there were no defence industry ministers or government members there. (Time expired)

See this speech in context