Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a subject that I have been actively engaged on for some time. It concerns me even more so now that nothing has been done to address the issue. I refer to the ongoing failure of the Rudd Labor government and in particular the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet, to support Australian defence industries. LAND 121 Phase 4 will acquire approximately 1,300 vehicles at a cost of more than $1.5 billion. It is therefore obvious to even the most casual defence observer that this project presents a considerable opportunity for Australian defence industry involvement. However, Minister Combet does not see it this way. For some inexplicable reason, he continues to reject one of the key election commitments of his own government—that is, to support Australian industry.

The current situation is this: Minister Combet’s government in October 2008 funded a US program to develop three prototype vehicles at a cost of $40 million, yet he only saw fit to release the request for proposal to Australian industry in June 2009—some eight months after investing $40 million in the US program.

Let there be no mistake: the request for proposal does not provide any funding to Australian industry. It is fair to ask why this would be the case. Why would the minister wilfully neglect Australian industry? Is it because the US design is a military off-the-shelf solution which presents less risk? No; the US program is a developmental program. Is it because the US program is developing the vehicles at a lower cost than what could reasonably be expected of Australian industry? Again, no. In fact, a congressional research paper from as recently as May this year has estimated that the US program will produce a baseline vehicle that costs 70 per cent more than the original target cost of US$250,000. That means a baseline vehicle will now cost approximately US$418,000. One must concede, then, that the US program is producing a vehicle that offers superior capability. But, again, the answer is in the negative. The capability sought by the ADF is a vehicle with a maximum weight of seven tonnes. This weight is crucial, as the vehicle needs to be able to be slung under a CH-47 Chinook. The problem is that each of the three US prototypes weighs approximately nine to 10 tonnes.

It is becoming clear that the minister is hiding something. Why is it that $40 million has been given to the US Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program when no similar support has been afforded to Australian industry? I call on the minister to immediately declare why it is that Australian industry is being made to suffer when independent evidence suggests that the US JLTV prototypes do not meet Australian capability requirements and cost far in excess of Defence estimates.

I call on Minister Combet to make an immediate statement as to why Australian industry is being overlooked for two reasons. The first—and I am already on the record on this matter—is that Australian industry has a demonstrated capability to produce light armoured vehicles. Take, for example, the highly successful Bushmaster—a vehicle that has saved numerous Australian and Dutch lives despite being subjected to repeated IED attacks. Let me assure you, I have seen the IED affected vehicles that have returned from Afghanistan and they are doing their job. The second reason is that Australia is now one of only two international countries—the other being India—that have signed up for the next phase of the JLTV program, which is the engineering and manufacturing development phase. What concerns me is that there are reports that Australia has been, or will soon be, asked to contribute further funding to the US JLTV program as part of its agreement to be included in the engineering and manufacturing development phase. This is a concern because, while Minister Combet is resolute in his determination to ignore the capability Australian Defence industry has on offer, he may soon provide even more funding to the US JLTV program.

I am not speaking against the merits of the US program or investing in the potential solution it may offer. I stand here today as an advocate of the principle of equality of opportunity, whereby competitive Australian industry is given the same opportunities to compete for work as are international companies. Therefore, I call on Minister Combet to immediately provide funding to Australian industry to enable it to progress Australian designed and built prototypes for consideration in the protected light mobility vehicle program.