Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to talk about some of the great work our local Defence Force and the defence industry are doing on the New South Wales South Coast. My electorate is home to the only Navy air station, HMAS Albatross. Jervis Bay is also home to HMAS Creswell, the Royal Australian Naval College. Defence and the defence industry are our biggest employers, and we are proud of the amazing things they do for our community and our country.

The 2020 Defence strategic update identified that our national security landscape was changing more rapidly than predicted, so we need to make sure that our Defence Force remains positioned to meet these challenges. That's why the Albanese government has announced the Defence Strategic Review to examine the force structure, posture and preparedness, as well as our investment prioritisation, to ensure that we have the right capabilities to meet our growing strategic needs. I welcome this review. It's a positive step forward in recognising that changes may be needed to how we support our Defence Force.

I'm proud to say that, as a Navy town, our community is already starting to see shifting needs in defence and is pivoting to make it happen. Last week, I took a tour of Air Affairs, Australia's advanced manufacturing centre and aerospace training services facility, in south Nowra. The Shoalhaven has a significant defence industry, and Air Affairs is a world-leading specialist in manufacturing and training, with a focus on Navy. Air Affairs products are in demand globally, and, prior to COVID, exports made up 70 per cent of its business. I'm told that this is because much of the equipment that Australian Defence sourced was imported. In a great example of the holes we had in our defence strategy: when COVID hit, those supply chains were interrupted or destroyed. We didn't have much of the critical equipment needed. In an impressive pivot, Air Affairs, among others, was there as a recognised and proven defence industry manufacturer, and now 90 per cent of its products are sold domestically. This is not because exports have dropped off but because domestic demand has skyrocketed. With one look at their amazing facility, it isn't hard to see why. In the words of Darren, who showed me around, Air Affairs is making manufacturing sexy again, with clean manufacturing, local apprentices and local jobs supplying our local Navy base. What could be better?

Air Affairs has apprentices at every level across all trades—manufacturing, processing, electrical and painting—mostly with graduates from local schools. They provide a one-stop shop for defence products, using automation to complement their workers, including with 3D printers and some of the most complex machinery you've ever seen, overseen by all levels of mechanical engineers. As a former TAFE teacher myself, I found that what impressed me the most was their drive to recruit and train local young people from high school all the way through, showing them they can have a good career right there at home. While I was there, I met Ross, a mechanical engineer, who was originally in the automotive industry. Now he trains four or five apprentices at a time in hand and eye precision. It was great to see the work Ross and all the workers there were doing to help equip our Defence Force for the future.

On top of this, I also had a look at the aerospace training services facility. Air Affairs has just secured a five-year contract to train all HMAS Albatross's Romeo helicopter avionics crew men and women. After finishing with HMAS Cerberus, they come from around Australia to Nowra for 18 months to complete their training based at Albatross. The training centre embeds Navy officers with them and allows them to train on replicas of the equipment they will be using. With the proximity to Albatross, it helps to really prepare these young people for long careers in our Defence Force. They come out with a Certificate IV in Aeroskills, and Air Affairs is excited to provide the next generation of Navy crew with the skills they will need for our future. It's truly fantastic stuff. Thank you to Chris, Darren and Kate for showing me around, and thank you for the fabulous work you are doing supporting our Defence Force.

We need more of this: local jobs, local training, local equipment. This is what we need. The Defence Strategic Review will be the most significant review of our Defence Force we've seen in decades. We need to be prepared for the future, and I am excited that the Shoalhaven is front and centre in leading and supporting that future.

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