Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to be here today. The primary job of our government is to keep Australians safe, and the Morrison government is committed to doing just that. That's why we're building a stronger defence industry and investing in Australia's defence capability over the next decade. We are ensuring that the men and women of the Australian Defence Force have the capability they need to be able to keep Australians safe. At the same time, we're creating many, many jobs and backing Australian businesses to deliver this essential capability.

Last month the Treasurer announced the Morrison government's economic road to recovery, with the most significant business incentives ever delivered by any Australian government. The benefits for small, medium and large businesses in defence industry are unprecedented. We are kickstarting the engine of the Australian economy so that we can create more jobs. The Morrison government is now investing $575 billion over the next decade in the Defence portfolio. This is an historic and ambitious plan that we have chosen to embark on, even in the face of the challenges caused by COVID-19. Our defence budget for the next decade is about supporting the strengthening of our Defence Force and our defence industry, and as our strategic environment changes we need to adapt.

Out of the $575 billion spend, we will be investing $270 billion in our defence capability. This investment allows us to deliver the capabilities our men and women in uniform deserve. In our defence budget over the next decade we'll be investing $7 billion in space capabilities. This will allow us to invest in upgrades and support to existing and future satellite communication systems that will be under sovereign Australian control. This will transform the way that the ADF operates in space across the joint force. We will also be investing $15 billion in information and cybercapability. This will enhance our defensive and offensive cybercapabilities. This will ensure that we have the ability to develop these capabilities on operations so that defence can deter and respond to cyberthreats. To encourage and support Aussie ingenuity we will also invest just under $1 billion on the Defence Innovation Hub and more than $1 billion on the Next Generation Technologies Fund. We need this investment in emerging technologies so that we can ensure defence will have the capability it needs to address its future threats. We will continue to invest in our Naval Shipbuilding Plan. We are building our future ships right here in Australia, creating 15,000 Australian jobs right across the country. The investment is here, the opportunities are here and we are transforming the way that we do business with industry.

We are on the right track and we are delivering the budget certainty that defence and industry need for the future. To keep the wheels of defence industry turning, since 23 March 2020 Defence has paid almost 300,000 invoices, valued at $22 million. Of this, more than $16 billion has been paid early. We know that these early payments are flowing through to Australian small businesses. As a response to the global pandemic, we're rolling out $1 billion in defence recovery initiatives to keep the defence industry strong on the road ahead. In addition to this, we're releasing $870 million of estate works to the market to bolster defence industry recovery. We're doing this to back those local tradies and local suppliers to do the work on our defence forces. As I'm sure you will appreciate, Mr Deputy Speaker Gillespie, this is particularly important in the regions.

We are placing small business front and centre of defence decision-making. The important work of our Defence Force can only succeed with the help of the thousands of Australians and Australian businesses in our defence industry. Why? Because we know small business is the backbone of our economy. By backing small business, we are investing in local jobs, jobs that are crucial in keeping the wheels of industry turning. There are some 15,000 businesses and almost 70,000 Australians employed in our defence industry, and this number is growing. We are very proud of the Morrison government's investment of $270 billion in our defence capability.

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