Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fawcett for his question, particularly given his role as the chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. It is indeed just on 12 months since the last election and a little over 16 months since the Prime Minister and I released the defence white paper, the Integrated Investment Program and the Defence Industry Policy Statement. In the 16 months since then we have been focused on delivering on those plans. Indeed, in the budget we reaffirmed our commitment to increase the defence budget to two per cent of GDP, by 2021, three years ahead of the election commitment we made in 2013.

We have made very significant progress on our plans to modernise Australia's Navy. We have begun the design of our future submarines. We are conducting industry sessions right around the country to maximise Australian industry involvement and we have signed the intergovernmental agreement with France for the Future Submarine program. We have shortlisted companies and issued tenders for the Future Frigate and the Offshore Patrol Vessels, which will both be built in Australia. We are advancing the acquisition of the New Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles for the Army—which in fact I was able to inspect this morning, at a reasonably chilly Fairbairn—as they undergo part of their trials at the moment for air transportability. We finalised the cost-sharing for the Force Posture Initiatives and started the Enhanced Air Cooperation Initiative this year, as well.

That is a very brief description of some of the key activities the government is delivering to ensure we keep our nation safe. In fact, in this financial year, through the approvals process of the cabinet, we have progressed 63 projects, which is close to double the highest previous number. That is emblematic of our commitment to ensuring that we implement the provisions of the defence white paper and the Integrated Investment program and work within the Defence industry policy statement to ensure that we are supporting Australian industry in that process and achieving the best capability for the ADF.