Minister for Defence Industry, The Hon Christopher Pyne MP, has announced he has written to Australia’s network of Defence Attaches stressing the importance of Australian Defence Industry and asking each mission to develop a plan for growth for Australian defence exports to their host nation.
An expanded role for defence attaches includes identifying defence market opportunities, assisting Australian defence companies overseas to achieve military sales, and providing advice on how the Government and Defence can best advocate in support of Australian companies to seize those opportunities, and capitalise on them to support our broader defence interests.
“The Government is committed to working with Australian defence industry to develop export opportunities,” Minister Pyne said.
“Our Defence Attaches play an important role in some markets in identifying opportunities and supporting those efforts and the Government intends to ensure our Defence Industry is a focus of these efforts.
“The Government is committed to maximising opportunities for Australian industry to meet Australia’s defence capability needs and realise exports overseas.
“Defence exports increase the resilience, productivity, and capability of our sovereign Australian industry, while promoting innovation, skills and technology development, and employment.”
Minister Pyne said Australia’s defence industry has a range of proven world leading capabilities and Australian companies have the full backing and support of the Government and Defence to seize those opportunities.
Promoting Australian defence exports has underpinned the Minister’s visits already to the United States and the Middle East and will be his key priority for his visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, France, and Austria next week.
“The Government’s focus on defence exports is a critical element of its broader approach to supporting Australia’s defence industry,” Minister Pyne said.
To further support our defence industry, Defence in conjunction with the newly opened Centre for Defence Industry Capability is currently developing a defence export strategy for release in 2017 to recognise a systematic approach to supporting, facilitating, and advocating for Defence exports.
