Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Two hundred billion dollars—that's the headline number regarding the federal government's investments in our defence capabilities. It's a significant investment, demonstrating this government's commitment to ensuring our Defence forces are best equipped to face an uncertain global future. I want to explain for a moment what this means in a local sense, in an electorate like Brisbane. There's a business in Brisbane, in Fortitude Valley, called EPE. They're at the forefront of protective equipment for our police and our defence forces. EPE is leading the world when it comes to fields like bomb detection, diffusing and protection, counterdrone technology, chemical hazard control, unmanned vehicles, and tactical and surveillance equipment. Their work ensures that our defence forces can be amongst the best protected around the world. I recently toured this business with its director, Warwick Penrose, and I gained some insights into many emerging and important technologies that not only increase the defence of our own armed forces but help to protect all of us as civilians. One example is that EPE recently received a grant from our Defence Innovation Hub for its AMULET ground-penetrating radar. In laymen's terms, this is putting new technology onto unmanned, robotic vehicles so that they can detect IEDs through the ground. It means, in practice, that our Defence Force members can find and disarm explosives while keeping a safe distance. EPE have a steadily-growing number of supply contracts with other defence forces and other police services around the world, meaning that Australian technology is helping to protect the lives of our neighbours and our close friends right around the world. EPE now generates over $50 million in export revenue. They're just one of the small and medium businesses that are benefiting from the government's renewed focus on growing our defence industries.

There has been some recent news commentary around the idea of Australia growing its exports from our defence industries, and some of that commentary is based, I suppose, on a false undergraduate yearning that we might live in a different world but also on the incorrect view that a defence industry means just making bombs. Actually, Australia's defence industry is far more advanced and diversified than that. EPE is just one example where growing our defence industry exports means that people right around the world are better protected, including from new and emerging threats like IEDs and drones. EPE has a very important future and I look forward to watching the business succeed and grow. All Australians should be proud that Aussie ingenuity is leading the world when it comes to defensive technologies and, on a local level, when businesses like EPE succeed, it means local jobs and especially high-end manufacturing and technological jobs in places like Brisbane.