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

Notwithstanding the attractiveness of the proposition, I am not going to comment on agitating unions—I might leave that to my colleague Senator Cash. But, as I have just said, I am not going to stand here and set a floor or a particular percentage on Australia's detailed commercial negotiating position, and that is a consistent position which I have taken since the announcement of the Future Submarine program, as you know, and the decision in that regard.

What we will do—and what we have instructed the Department of Defence to do—is maximise that involvement, engagement and capability right throughout the Future Submarine process, and perhaps for the first time ever we have actually set up the necessary initiatives to do that in helping Australian industry become involved. We are not going to leave those SMEs out there on their own trying work it out for themselves in terms of winning those contracts. We have established the new Centre for Defence Industry Capability, which is going to help them right across the country to engage with DCNS and other major defence contractors to help them secure those contracts and create Australian jobs. In fact—(Time expired)