Page 4 - Defence Industry Guide #53

4 FOREWORD
ADM’s Defence Industry Guide 2021 | Edition 53 | www.defencesuppliers.com.au
MINISTERIAL FOREWORD BY MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY MELISSA PRICE
RIGHT now, thousands of small businesses around Aus- tralia are taking part in the Morrison Government’s record build-up of Australia’s defence capability.
We’re investing over $200 billion in Australia’s de- fence capability to deliver a more agile and capable Australian Defence Force. And we need a robust, re- silient and internationally competitive Australian de- fence industry to deliver this.
We’re helping Australia’s defence industry to build and maintain the industrial skills and capabilities re- quired to keep our country safe, and also become a ma-
Through the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC), we’re providing grants for small businesses, including those in regional Australia, to help them im- prove their capability and skills. The CDIC also pro- vides business advisory services to help businesses get ‘defence-ready’.
A strong, resilient and internationally competitive Australian defence industry is essential to supporting Australia’s defence capability needs.
Increasing our defence industry exports will help sustain our industry, provide it with greater certainty of future investment, and support high-end manufac- turing jobs for Australians for generations to come.
That’s why we’re partnering with industry to re- sponsibly pursue and secure export opportunities, and we established the Australian Defence Export Office to do this.
I’ve been relentless in my pursuit of more opportuni- ties for Australian defence businesses, and I’ve been thrilled at the response. The world is certainly sitting up and taking notice of what Australia is doing in this space – and that’s a very good thing for Aussie small businesses with global ambitions.
This magazine and guide are valuable resources for advancing the strong partnership between Defence and industry, and the companies listed here are key to our success.
There is no doubt our defence industry agenda is ambitious, and I’m sure you would not want it any other way.
THE HON MELISSA PRICE MP
Minister for Defence Industry ■
“A STRONG RESILIENT AND INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY IS ESSENTIAL TO SUPPORTING AUSTRALIA’S DEFENCE CAPABILITY NEEDS.”
jor defence exporter.
Ultimately, we are committed to
making it easier for businesses to partner with Defence – simply be- cause we need them to.
But there’s more to be done.
The release of the 2019 Defence Policy for Industry Participation strengthens and extends the Austra- lian Industry Capability Program to non-materiel and estate and infra- structure procurements.
This means the benefits to Aus- tralian industry realised in major projects will also be seen in smaller projects. These initiatives reflect the Morrison Government’s endur- ing commitment to grow and sup- port Australia’s defence industry.
The undeniable backbone of our defence industrial base are our small businesses, which are home to some of the most innovative and world-leading de- fence capabilities.
DEFENCE