The government has announced a $1 billion investment package to boost Australia’s defence industry and support 'thousands of jobs' across the country.
The package is directed towards nationwide projects and jobs across Australia including:
- Increasing the employment of ADF Reservists who have lost their civilian income, with an allocation of up to an extra 210,000 days, and the targeted recruitment of an additional 500 ADF Reservists;
- Increasing employment opportunities for current and former ADF personnel and their families;
- A $300 million national estate works program that will focus on regional areas (including bushfire affected regions), such as Jervis Bay & Eden, RAAF Bases East Sale, Pearce, Wagga and Amberley, the Albury Wodonga Military Area and Blamey Barracks;
- Accelerating the sustainment of ADF platforms and capabilities, including the upgrade of Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, modernisation of ADF uniforms; and additional C-27J maintenance, which will engage ex-Qantas and Virgin technicians;
- Bringing forward around $190 million of investment in approved infrastructure projects in the Northern Territory;
- Increased funding for Defence innovation, industry grants, skilling and micro credentialing and cyber training for Defence industry; and
- Accelerating important ADF capability development projects, targeting key manufacturing, construction and high-tech sectors.
“Like much of the economy, our local defence industry is doing it tough because of COVID-19. This is especially so for small and medium sized businesses, that are critical to jobs,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
“Supporting our defence industry is all part of our JobMaker plan – especially high-paying, high-skilled jobs that ensure we are supporting a robust, resilient and internationally competitive defence industry. We want to build our sovereign industrial capabilities and Australian workforce to keep our people safe.”
“We will also support our ADF members and families, particularly any Reservists who are doing it tough because of COVID-19.”
The announcement was made at Canberra-based company, DATAPOD (Australia), which has been awarded a two-year, $20 million contract.
The Australian owned company will provide Defence with portable, containerised data systems which can be rapidly deployed by sea, air or road.
Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said supporting Australian defence industry is crucial to the economy’s recovery.
“Already we’ve fast-tracked a range of capability, infrastructure, skilling and workforce initiatives over the next two years. This includes rolling out a number of Defence estate works tenders as part of Defence’s economic stimulus initiative package, that will run over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years,” Minister Reynolds said.
“Over $11 billion has already been provided in early payment for invoices and work to improve or sustain industry capacity for the delivery of critical supplies."
“We’re getting on with the job of delivering critical capability outcomes to Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as continuing to support our personnel, including ADF Reserve members.”
Defence says it will retain a 'great level of agility' to phase and adjust expenditure of the initiatives to ensure they are affordable and remain suitable over the next two years.
“We want to ensure defence industry continues to provide vital supply chains to develop and maintain defence capabilities, as we look at opportunities to accelerate projects across Australia,” Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said.
“These projects will support and grow the 70,000-strong workforce in defence industry supply chains and those benefiting from our investment in defence.
“We are committed to supporting small and medium sized enterprises across Australian defence industry, with programs that will support regional areas, including bushfire affected communities.”
ADM Comment: Whilst the PM's release does not go into further detail, the estate works referenced here do not appear to have been as forthcoming as many might have expected earlier in the year. In June, for example, only one of the 91 work packages scheduled for release over the prior two months - the peak of the first lockdown in NSW - resulted in a grant.
Several months later, ADM analysed a newly-released estate works schedule and found that the value of contracts scheduled for release in the third calendar quarter of 2020 also dropped, although a Defence spokesperson confirmed that the program remained on schedule.