James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence, Senator Johnston. I refer the minister to the official rollout of Australia's first two F35A Joint Strike aircraft at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth facility on 24 July 2014. Can the minister update the Senate on developments since then?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his interest in what is a very important national security matter. I am very pleased to be able to update the Senate on the progress of Australia's acquisition of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. On Monday evening Australian time, our first Joint Strike Fighter, known as AU1, made its inaugural flight in Fort Worth, Texas. This is a significant milestone in the Joint Strike Fighter program for Australia, and an important step towards acceptance of this aircraft into service.

Australia's first aircraft, AU1 and AU2, will now undergo further flight testing in the lead-up to acceptance and their ferrying to Luke Air Force Base in 2015. The Joint Strike Fighter engine has successfully completed nearly 32,000 hours of testing, and availability has remained steady at about 98 per cent. The fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter is the most advanced fighter in production anywhere in the world, and will replace our fleet of classic Hornets, which by 2020 will be over 35 years old. The first F-35 aircraft will enter service in Australia in 2018, with the first operational squadron established by 2020.

The Abbott government's decision earlier this year to acquire a further tranche of 58 Joint Strike Fighters demonstrates a strong commitment by this government to build a strong Defence Force. As a fifth-generation aircraft, the Joint Strike Fighter will ensure that in air-combat-capability terms, Australia will remain regionally dominant. It will make a vital contribution to our national security, and ensure interoperability with our allies, as Australia continues to maintain a reasonable air-combat edge.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister outlined to the Senate how Australian industry has benefited from Australia's entry into the initial development stage of the Joint Strike Fighter program in 2002 under the Howard government?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When Australia, under the Howard government, signed on in 2002 as a full partner nation in the Joint Strike Fighter program, it did so with great foresight. Australian industry has had the opportunity to support a major aircraft production line, as well as gaining access to aerospace market opportunities beyond the Joint Strike Fighter. Australia's participation in the Joint Strike Fighter program has resulted in an Australian part in almost every aircraft produced. The Australian defence industry has already been awarded over $355 million worth of work. Defence estimates that Australian industry will win at least $1.5 billion worth of work during the Joint Strike Fighter production phase, over the life of the program. Many companies have had noteworthy success already in winning work from the program: Ferra Engineering and Ball Solutions Group in Queensland; Vipac Engineers and Scientists Ltd in Adelaide; Rosebank Engineering Australia, Marand Precision Engineering, and Levett Engineering in Melbourne; Quickstep in New South Wales; ST Kinetics here in Canberra; and Calytrix Technologies in Perth; to name but a few.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate how this record compares to Labor's support of the Australian defence industry over the last six years?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have said on a number of occasions, Mr President, the former Labor government cut the Defence budget so drastically that 119 projects were delayed, 43 projects were reduced and eight were cancelled altogether. Australian defence industry has shed more than 10 per cent of its workforce, as the work simply dried up because of these budget cuts and deferrals. The Defence Capability Plan that I inherited was never affordable. Industry was promised an updated defence capability plan two years ago but it never eventuated. Unlike the Abbott government, Labor did not even bother to publish a policy on defence leading up to the last election. Labor's legacy of mismanagement means Defence now faces a deficit of $12 billion on current plans over the next decade, with an additional $18 billion required to achieve Labor's hyped Force 2030 from the Defence white paper of 2009. The legacy we are dealing with—(Time expired)