Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate young Canberra engineer Adrian Thearle for winning the Australian Industry and Defence Network ACT Young Achiever Award. This award recognises the outstanding contribution Adrian has made to the defence industry. Employed by CEA Technologies, which is based in Fyshwick in my electorate, Adrian Thearle has worked on leading-edge radar technology for the Anti-Ship Missile Defence project for the Australian Navy. This allows our Anzac class frigates to find and track targets. This award is testament to Adrian’s ability and the support of CEA technologies, which has seen him rise from a junior engineer to the principal hardware engineer for the Anti-Ship Missile Defence project in only six years. The phased array radar system was designed in Australia with Australian expertise. It gives young people like Adrian the opportunity to build their skills and experience, which is good news for the Australian defence industry. I also wish to congratulate CEA Technologies for its commitment to supporting and encouraging young people in the defence industry. This is the second year in a row that a CEA employee has won this award. I wish Adrian well in his aspiration to one day provide his own locally designed and developed solutions to help our defence industry, our forces and those of our allies.