A defence industry advocate has called upon Government to prioritise the transfer of skills and knowledge to Australian companies in order to achieve maximum Australian industry involvement in key defence programs over coming decades.
Australian Made Defence spokesperson, Margot Forster said comments from DCNS describing Australian companies’ involvement in the Future Submarine program as a “no brainer” demonstrates the company understands the value in utilising a local supply chain, but that the Government needed to adopt a clearer approach to procurement to make this a reality.
“It’s not enough to propose a policy of ‘maximum’ Australian industry involvement – industry needs clearer guidelines to plan for, consider and implement throughout a range of projects,” Forster said. “This is essential for our domestic industry to have the certainty to invest, but also outline rules within which international competitors must operate.
“Government must consider a range of variables when awarding these contracts and how companies plan to develop the local industry should be a key consideration.”
Forster added Australian companies may miss out on contracts if there was no clear policy. She also said where local companies are not competitive enough or fall short of the requirements, there must be a plan to partner them with overseas suppliers and transfer the skills and know-how to ensure we develop a sovereign capability for the future.
“We commend DCNS for its commitment to maximising local involvement as well as further developing a highly skilled Australian workforce. The workforce requirements of the Australian SME supply chain are as critical as those of the Prime Defence Contractors and the Federal Government must consider these requirements when developing a national skilling strategy,” Forster said.