Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett very much for his question and particularly for his interest in this issue. The Centre for Defence Industry Capability is actually a good news story, which of course means that those opposite will not be interested in the least. It was announced last week, with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, that it would be headquartered in Adelaide, but it will have national reach. Its role is to develop defence industry and to foster and direct drive innovation in defence right across Australia, as well as opening up important export opportunities. It is in fact a key initiative of the Defence Industry Policy Statement. It is about bringing together the private sector, Defence and AusIndustry and helping to drive a transformative relationship between Defence and industry to deliver exactly the cutting-edge capability our forces require.

What is really innovative about the CDIC is that it will be specifically charged to go out and to work with small to medium enterprises in the defence space right across the country. It is going to be staffed by experts who understand business and understand defence, who will work with individual enterprises on how they can contribute to defence capability and place them in a strong position to win those contracts, and it is going to be a two-way street. What the CDIC will be able to do is to let industry know what Defence needs and to give businesses greater certainty to invest in innovative ideas and in technology and a connection back into Defence—ensuring that Defence knows what capabilities, technologies and solutions exist in industry. So, by working with industry to boost skills, to boost competitiveness and to open up export opportunities, what the Centre for Defence Industry Capability will do is help industry capture more of the defence dollar, create more jobs and drive growth here in Australia.