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A newly released defence industry report recommends the Department of Defence cultivate Australian defence prime contractors and create a new $1 billion fund to acquire capabilities and services from medium and small Australian companies for defence purposes.
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The Developing Australia’s Defence Industrial Base, published by the Sovereign Australian Prime Alliance and Australian Industry & Defence Network on 1 December, makes recommendations for Defence as Australia faces it’s most challenging outlook since World War II.
The eight recommendations made to the Department of Defence and Australian government to grow Australia’s defence industrial base include declaration of the intent to establish Australian defence industry primes, establishment of a government defence industry steering council, production of a new definition of “industrial sovereignty” and revision of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules to recognise economic security and industrial sovereignty as “value for money”.
Other recommendations include changes to Defence core processes and structures to enable and grow direct partnerships with Australian companies, the creation of a new $1 billion budget line to fund sovereign capabilities and services from medium and small Australian companies for defence purposes, the intention to make AUKUS Pillar II deliver now, by setting industry to work, and the replacement of the fruitless search for the perfect lists of “Strategic Capabilities Priorities” and detailed industry plans with practical priorities.
The report asserts that its recommendations will see Australia shore up its defences by building a stronger industrial base centred on stronger manufacturing capabilities, a multi-pronged approach to reducing supply chain risk, including greater stockpiles of key resources, and building a stronger sovereign defence industry underpinned by Australian primes.
“Even our most trusted security partners will be stretched in the event of a regional war. So, Australia must have more independent capacity to defend ourselves and to be a strong partner with our allies,” according to Rob Nioa, NIOA chief executive officer, a member of SAPA, and one of the paper’s co-sponsors.
“NIOA underscored how Australian industry is ready to step up to support Defence and the government meet the current challenge.
“Give us the tools and we will finish the job. In this case, the tools are the conditions that will allow strong Australian-owned and run defence prime companies to emerge and thrive.”
The paper argues that achieving these objectives will de-risk the nation as it faces the most challenging strategic outlook since World War II. It also examines Australia’s strategic challenges in the context of increasingly expansionist policies of the People’s Republic of China and the growing grey-zone warfare tactics being perpetrated against Australia and our allies.
The Australian Industry & Defence Network was established in 1995 to develop a national representation for small-to-medium-enterprises operating in the Defence sector, while the Sovereign Australian Prime Alliance is an informal grouping of large Australian prime contractors to the federal government.
