Page 25 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec-Jan 2021

DECEMBER 2020 – JANUARY 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
WOMEN IN DEFENCE AWARD WINNER 25
quite some time, I cannot wait for the opportunity for us to meet in person to celebrate what we have all achieved together in this challenging year, but more importantly, to come together to do what we do best, to collaborate and innovate, in order to overcome the challenges 2020 has brought us – from bushfires, floods and COVID – nevermind the challenges that months of homeschooling brought for many of us!
“This collaboration, where we all bring what we do best together, is how we can deliver what Government, De- fence and our Industry members need from us.
“For those of us working in the Defence and technolo- gies sectors, we understand that the rate of change we are experiencing today may well be the slowest we will experience again.
When we add to that the societal, geopolitical and economic changes that 2020 has shone a spotlight upon, the one thing we can be certain of is that the world we are living in is becoming increasingly volatile, uncer- tain, complex and ambiguous.
“As such, understanding the changes in strategic and operational threats, and understanding emerging tech- nologies becomes even more critical both in how we can harness these disruptive technologies as well as how we respond to them.
“The rapid acceleration and potential for disruption of these emerging technologies presents both opportu- nities and challenges that Defence, Industry and Aca- demia must effectively harness in order to realise a com- petitive advantage.
“In this era of unprecedented change, maintaining a transient advantage re- quires Defence to not only master these emerging technologies, but to build an ecosystem that truly partners with Indus- try, to foster revolutionary innovation.
“To do this successfully, we are driven us towards an even closer col- laboration between Industry and De- fence. The sovereign capability focus we have seen within Defence in re- cent years, we are now seeing further strengthened through our national re- sponse to COVID-19.
“I’M ENCOURAGED AND INSPIRED TO SEE THE NUMBER OF WOMEN WORKING IN DEFENCE STEADILY GROWING OVER RECENT YEARS – INCLUDING IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.”
“The biggest lesson I have taken
from COVID is the importance of collaboration and personal relationships – things I was certainly guilty of taking for granted. I used to complain about the early morning flights to Canberra – but what I wouldn’t give to be up there sharing this event with you all in person!
McCullough Robertson is a national, independent Australian law firm with unique contemporary Defence & National Security expertise.
Offering strategic, technical and bespoke legal services tailored to manage the specific requirements and challenges that arise in the Defence and National Security environments. We understand their unique capability profiles and complex regulatory frameworks.
For almost a century, McCullough Robertson has been a trusted leader across key industry sectors. We are proud to have expanded our offering in the
Defence and National Security space to support sovereign priorities. We are also proud of our market recognition across gender, diversity, innovation, as well as being a Veteran employer and support to charitable organisations such as ‘Wandering Warriors’.
We invite you to connect with McCullough Robertson’s Defence and National Security team and work together to lead the way.
“PULLQUOTE.”
mccullough.com.au
Phone: 02 6243 3699
Canberra | Sydney | Newcastle | Melbourne | Brisbane
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