Rex Patrick (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Minister Payne, representing the Minister for Defence Industry, and relates to definitions around sovereign defence industry. In last week's release of the government's Defence Export Strategy, which I broadly support, 'Australian defence industry' was defined as consisting of:

… businesses with an Australian Business Number …

Surely this can't be correct. Surely it's not that simple. Surely in order to be considered a part of Australian defence industry, and indeed to get access to Commonwealth grants, a company must have firmly demonstrated a commitment to our country by having created and sustained jobs, having invested in skilling the workforce, having made capital investments, having developed intellectual property and having developed product. Can the minister explain how the government came to the view that to be considered Australian defence industry a business only needs to have an ABN?