Minister for Defence - Doorstop interview – Defence Food and Nutrition Centre, Scottsdale, Tasmania

Subjects: Combat rations, Defence industry, US Force Rotation, Defence White Paper

ANDREW NIKOLIC:

I very much welcome my colleague, Minister Marise Payne, the Defence Minister and Senator Richard Colbeck to the Defence Science facility at Scottsdale. I’ve been saying for about five years that we can do a lot more here at Scottsdale in terms of improving the quality of food we produce for our troops, but also perhaps providing options for humanitarian assistance and disaster contingencies and commercialisation. I’m really thrilled that the Minister is here to see the potential of this facility and can I just say what an eclectic life she leads; one day discussing the Defence White Paper and, as someone who’s spent 31 years in the Army, may I say the best received White Paper in my experience as a member of the Defence Force, and here she is today at the tactical level thinking about what more we can do to make sure the nutrition for our troops is much better into the future than it is today. So, Minister thank you for being here and I invite you to address the media.

MINISTER PAYNE:

Thank you very much Andrew. Always a pleasure to visit Bass with Andrew and with my colleague from the Senate, Senator Richard Colbeck. This is a fabulous announcement today. This is in fact, harnessing some of the key aspects of both the Defence White Paper and the Defence Industry Policy Statement in our MATS announcement, our Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilisation Process. There will be two of these extremely impressive pieces of technology in this part of Tasmania; one here in Scottsdale, and I want to thank the team here at the DSTG, for your hospitality in having us here today. But also the chance to learn about the sort of work that we are doing to best support our members of the ADF when they are in the field and deployed internationally. The second of the facilities will be a production – the second of the machines – will be a production facility in Launceston as well. What we are doing is harnessing amazing Australian capacity in science, in technology, and in innovation. We are going to be able to work locally with food producers, locally with industry, to make sure that we make the most of this, not just for ourselves but, as Andrew said, potentially on an international basis and that is very much the message that we delivered last week through the Defence Industry Policy Statement. I had the chance also to visit the Australian Maritime College this morning as well. The work that is being done there in conjunction with the Defence Science and Technology Group is also world leading. Absolutely leading-edge science and technology capability development. So I’m extremely proud of what we’re doing but also extremely proud of what we’re going to be able to do with business in Australia, with Defence industry in Australia, including here, as we progress all of these. So, you’ve had a chance to see some of the sorts of work that is being done and what the MATS system will do is really increase the quality of that for our ADF members but also, a broader application that I think Australia will benefit from enormously. Very happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST:

How important is it to ensure that our troops are getting the nutrients that they need?

MINISTER PAYNE:

It’s obviously essential. It is absolutely fundamental. There is no way we can ask the men and women of the ADF to do the jobs that we ask them to do – whether they’re in the Army, the Navy or the Air Force – without making sure that we’re giving them scientific-based, nutritional support with the sort of food that is being produced here. What is actually being done here in Scottsdale is world leading for our members of the ADF.

JOURNALIST:

We understand there might be some commercial benefits to this new technology as well, can you discuss that?

MINISTER PAYNE:

I think the Professor was saying earlier that this will really enhance the quality of pre-prepared food. So you give it a stable shelf life, you give it longer life, and it’s much better quality. So if we’re dealing with something which tastes better and is good for you then obviously it has enormous potential in a commercial sense for pre-prepared food. Now, we’ve all done that: we’ve all come home from work, thrown something in the existing microwave. As has been pointed out to us today, that starts as a frozen product at the moment because that’s the only way to keep it stable. This technology has enormous potential to change that.

JOURNALIST:

What role will the research and development plant here actually play? What will be tested here?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well, the sorts of food that we need to provide to the men and women of the ADF; the sorts of food that we can make the best quality possible, that we can deliver the best way. Preparation time is important, as was explained to me today; when you are, literally, on task in the deployed area or in the field, it’s not necessarily possible for you to be able to sit down and take the time that it consumes to prepare the food. If we put a product that is much more readily available and more easily prepared then that changes that as well.

JOURNALIST:

You tried some before, how was it?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well, it’s not MATS yet but we tried the banana-based product which was very impressive. I think you gave some to some of your crew so they obviously didn’t mind either. It’s important to make sure that we are actually engaging in that test space, if you like, and I also had a small visit with one of the staff here to test evaluation room where they test the products in a very quiet confined space so the individual who’s doing the test for taste, for smell, for touch, for look, is able to focus on that. That’s about delivering a product which is palatable and positive for the members of the ADF.

JOURNALIST:

Minister, this is a significant investment for Tasmania. If we look at the Defence White Paper though, what else is there for Tasmania or in the future in the way of tenders both big and small for Tasmania?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well, there are a lot of tender opportunities coming down the line right across Australia and you have some very important skills here. I know for example that business here is outfitting the accommodation parts of the Air Warfare Destroyers, which are currently under construction in Adelaide. Now it goes without saying that as we procure Future Frigates and Offshore Patrol Vessels and do the work in terms of acquiring the Future Submarines, that sort of flow-on impact on Australian business is national, from here where I am standing here in Tasmania now, to the top of Queensland, to the furthest west in Western Australia. I look forward to working with Tasmanian defence industry in particular to make the most of that.

I said when I was at the Maritime College this morning that one of the things that we’ll be doing over the next couple of months is convening a defence industry roundtable here in Tasmania with the leaders of our Capability, Acquisition and Sustainment Group to develop that relationship. So the Defence Industry Policy Statement which we released is about completely resetting that relationship, treating industry as a fundamental input to Defence capability, which is not the relationship as it existed before, making the relationship more transparent and more productive and more two-way. I look forward very much to working with Tasmanian industry on that.

JOURNALIST:

The Tasmanian Premier is on the record as saying the State does miss out on its fair share of Defence spending. Incat, a company here lost out on a bid last year for the Pacific Patrol Boats; are we missing out on opportunities? What does the Government want to see from the State?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well I’d go back to the whole reset of the relationship in terms of the Defence Industry Policy Statement and having a roundtable of that nature. In fact I’m meeting with the Premier and Minister Groom tomorrow and look forward to developing those talks and that process for engaging with Defence in our capability and acquisition space.

JOURNALIST:

Is there room for improvement?

MINISTER PAYNE:

I think there is room for growth everywhere. That is the most important thing about the Defence White Paper and the Defence Industry Statement which we handed down two weeks ago. There is so much activity; we have such a lot of work to do to make sure that our Defence Force is as well-equipped as it can possibly be to ensure Australia’s protection. That will engage industry, literally around this country and I look forward to a significant part of that being in Tasmania.

JOURNALIST:

How many jobs will be created from this mass technology?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Jobs here are more about changing skills here in the DSTG operations. But in the production facility in Launceston, it remains to be seen. But obviously that needs to be set up and established and it needs to work, so I think we can look forward to positive news there as well.

JOURNALIST:

When can we expect it to be established?

MINISTER PAYNE:

2017 and I think late 2016 here but I’ll check on those dates for you.

JOURNALIST:

On the a question on tenders, how likely are we to see the production of ration packs back in Australia and back in Tasmania in particular?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well, if you just pick up a grab-and-go pack, then you’ll see some of the content, it’s combined Australia and New Zealand and so on. But the work that is being done here is about making sure, particularly with the MATS process, that we can also work with local producers to use that local product. Tasmania is, as far as I’m concerned, in terms of its clean, green agricultural industry reputation, the best possible place to do that.

JOURNALIST:

At the moment, that’s been put together overseas as I understand it. How close are we to getting it back into local produce?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well, I’ll do my very best in working with Andrew to make sure that we deliver that because we want to engage Australian industry. What the Prime Minister said yesterday in relation to this is, if we’re spending the Defence dollar, we want as much of that dollar as possible to be spent on Australian product and that includes food.

JOURNALIST:

Just on another issue; if we’re discussing the issue of rotating long range bombers, doesn’t that clearly show that we’re taking sides as tensions increase between the US and China?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well, in fact what we have underway is a project which began under Prime Minister Gillard in terms of the US force posture rotation into Australia. It includes the Marines, which is already part of the process, and an Air Force element as well. So this is an ongoing discussion and engagement which we’ve had with the United States for some time. But it certainly doesn’t detract from the fact that we say, as does the United States, that we will support and preserve the right of countries like Australia and our neighbours to engage in freedom of flight, freedom of overflight and freedom of navigation where international law allows, and we don’t walk away from that.

JOURNALIST:

Is Australia taking sides with the US in this debate?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Australia is working with all of our allies, our neighbours, our coalition partners, in a number of areas. We work very closely with the United States, we work closely with the Philippines, we work closely with Indonesia and closely with China, closely with the British. This is part of what we do. And another aspect of the White Paper, which you’ve just allowed me to talk about, is a very heavily developed project of international engagement, which is being funded in Defence to a level not seen before. That includes our close region, the broader region and further internationally. That includes increased training and exercises so, we have our standard exercises which are between us and the United States, us and Japan, us and Indonesia and so the list goes on. They will continue but, what’s more, they will grow. It is incredibly important for relationship building and something I am very passionate about.

JOURNALIST: So are you concerned though, with the messages China might be getting from this collaboration with or assisting the US?

MINISTER PAYNE:

Well this is a longstanding process, so it is actually not new news, as it were. Part of the visiting US officials task is, in fact, to engage in the discussions around that. So I’m looking forward to having an opportunity, in fact, to visit the US force rotation in the Northern Territory when it occurs again later this year and hopefully take some of my colleagues who may be interested in doing so as well.