Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This matter was discussed widely last week. Like the overwhelming majority of my constituents, I oppose the construction of a casino on the Sunshine Coast. While no-one is more committed than I am to the creation of more jobs in our community, a casino would hollow out our local economy and leave small business owners and local consumers all the poorer. The jobs that we really need are highly skilled jobs in a diverse range of industry sectors to ensure that our economy is robust and offers our young people the careers and opportunities they deserve. That's why I've been working hard to advance my Fisher Defence Industry Initiative and to help build a high-technology manufacturing and defence industry hub in the southern and central parts of the Sunshine Coast.

In January I visited another innovative engineering and manufacturing business in my electorate who are beginning their journey toward being a part of the government's $200 billion defence capability investment. In Caloundra I recently spent time at APAC Infrastructure, led on a tour by Shane and Doug Pukallus, along with Michael Window. APA build light-weight, portable towers which support a range of telecommunications equipment. They can be carried in a ute or a trailer, raised without dangerous climbing, and can even be used to operate drones in the field. APAC are the only domestic manufacturer of their products, and we believe that their work has potential defence applications. In a great example of the hub approach that I want to encourage, APAC are working closely with another small business just across the road from them, Billet Proof, owned and operated by Ralph Francis. Ralph is a machinist with the tools and the skills to make high-accuracy, military-grade components. Through my Fisher Defence Industry Initiative I'm helping APAC and Billet Proof to make the connections they need both in government, in prime Defence contractors and, importantly, with other companies in the same position in Fisher. Through these local connections APAC are already designing the next generation of features that will extend the use of their towers and allow them to work together with the Sunshine Coast's other ground-breaking defence innovations.

I'm delighted to say that the defence industry hub we are creating on the Sunshine Coast has already begun to take the next step and to explore export possibilities. Increasing exports is a major new focus of the Turnbull government's investment in Australia's defence capability, and it's a major focus of my local initiative. Locally, we already have companies exporting defence and high-tech manufacturing products. APAC Infrastructure themselves are already exporting their portable telecommunications platform through a partnership with Boeing. Local business Eniquest export portable generators to the Singaporean military, while other coast innovators like Helimods and Praesidium Global are actively exploring export opportunities and demonstrating their products to overseas armed forces. I will continue to work with these businesses and others to find them the government support and the contacts they need to explore further export opportunities.

I intend to keep working hard to promote this growing industry on the coast. In March I'll be holding the next in my series of very successful defence industry initiative events. On 8 March from 2 pm at the University of the Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre I'll be gathering representatives of the Centre for Defence Industry Capability, that Defence Scientist's Office, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation and prime contractor NIOA to speak to local businesses in Fisher. We will discuss the right approach to winning defence contracts in the areas of science and innovation, the service industry including consulting, and the government's new defence export strategy. We are already seeing the benefits of the government's defence capability investment in Fisher, with millions of dollars worth of defence contracts coming to small businesses like those I've mentioned, as well as to the University of the Sunshine Coast. Whether they've never considered a contract with Defence before, or they're looking at how to set up their existing defence products for export, I strongly encourage any businesses in Fisher with an interest in being part of this growing Sunshine Coast defence industry hub to visit the events page of my website and register for our next event.