Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Minister for Defence Materiel. Will the minister explain how the defence white paper and the Defence Industry Policy Statement will create jobs in Australia's defence industries, particularly in my electorate of Brisbane?

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Brisbane for her question, for her interest in defence and for her chairing of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. She does an excellent job chairing that committee. As the member would be well aware, the government announced last week $30 billion in new investment in our nation's security. This includes 1.6 billion in Australia's defence industry. This is to help and assist the Australian defence industry capitalise on this spending by creating jobs and producing further economic growth for our country. There is $230 million to create the centre for defence industry capability, $730 million for research into emerging technologies and $640 million for a new defence innovation hub. What this means is that our defence industry, as I have said before, will be able to create further jobs in this area.

I would like to take a look at an example in and around Brisbane. We have got $18 billion that has been invested in the Joint Strike Fighter program. What that means for small Australian companies is significant. We have got Ferra Engineering: they make engine material and they will be a beneficiary of this. We have got TAE: they are a leader in avionics and they will be a beneficiary of this. We have got HTA: they are a thermal processing company and they will be a beneficiary of this. And we have got Micreo, which makes radar components. This company employs 200 people and it is confident that, due to the JSF and what it has been able to do on that program, it will be able to generate further employment.

I was at AiG's defence council meeting earlier today. There we had all the leaders of the Australian defence industry gathered in the one room. They are extremely upbeat about the defence white paper, because they know it is providing investment certainty. They know it is setting out a plan for the industry. They know they will be able to capitalise on it, and in capitalising on it they know that they will create further jobs.

I know those opposite have not been overly interested in the defence white paper. They seem to want to repeat question after question in here, rather than take an interest in what is a significant document. We look forward to them engaging, because the Australian defence industry would like to see that they are fully behind the defence white paper as well.