Press Conference, Canberra

SUBJECTS: Albanese Government's commitment to a Future Made in Australia; Rocket motor manufacturing facility to be built in Australia.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY, PAT CONROY: It's a pleasure to be here this afternoon. I'm joined by Air Marshal Leon Phillips, Chief of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise, and Kevin Robertson, program leader at the Defence Science and Technology Group on Guided Weapons. 

I begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people as the traditional custodians of the land we're meeting on and recognise and pay my respects to any other people, families with connections to the lands. 

The name of the building behind me is “the David Warren Building” and honours a pioneer in aerospace technology. Dr David Warren was a pioneer and the Australian inventor of the black box. In 1954 he came up with the idea of a device that would record flight data, voices and other sounds in aircraft cockpits immediately prior to a crash. It was a cutting‑edge development in aerospace technology at the time. 

Today's announcement builds on this proud history of innovation and underscores the Albanese Government's commitment to a Future Made in Australia. 

Since coming to office, the government has increased Defence funding by $5.7 billion over the forward estimates, and by $50.3 billion over the next decade. We're investing $21 billion over the decade specifically in the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise, and we're putting in place the foundations for a stronger Defence Force, one that is equipped and ready to respond to the most challenging strategic circumstances since the end of the Second World War.  

And we're delivering on our commitment, we're getting on with the job and delivering Australia's conventionally armed nuclear‑powered submarines in the early 2030s, and we're more than doubling the size of the navy's surface combatant force, and we're equipping the Australian Army with its first armed drone. 

And just last month we announced we would contribute up to $850 million in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture surface missiles in Australia. 

This project is expected to generate more than 600 jobs and bring around $100 million of economic benefits to the Newcastle area, and it will make in Australia – it will make Australia, rather, the only place outside of Norway to produce a joint strike missile and a naval strike missile, positioning Australia as world leader in advanced high‑tech missile manufacturing and strengthening our software defence capability.

Now today we're making another important step to grow Australia's defence industrial base, and the government understands the importance of innovation to our economy, to our society, to our national security and a Future Made in Australia. 

Just look at the Nulka standing behind me. Australian scientists designed this hovering rocket motor, with its missile decoy that has protected our sailors and generated over $1 billion worth of exports, and we're building on that legacy today. 

So today I am announcing that we've started the process of establishing a solid rocket motor manufacturing facility and industry right here in Australia. Rocket motors are an integral component of missiles such as the SM‑family missiles and the naval strike missile.  With an initial investment of $22 million, the facility will also have the flexibility to support future weapon capabilities enabling the ADF to maintain its technological edge. 

This initiative is part of our efforts to transform and grow Australia's defence industry and accelerate the delivery of capability to keep Australians safe. As a first step we're asking the defence industry to develop options to establish a sovereign manufacturing facility on home soil. A request for information opens today seeking industry responses by the end of the year, and these responses will inform Defence's approach to market next year to select suitable industry partners. 

This is the first stage in building a rocket motor manufacturing facility, a rocket motor factory in Australia that will create hundreds of highly‑skilled, well‑paid jobs contributing to our national defence, contributing to our sovereignty and independence as an essential part of us building missiles in this country. We can expect the first of these critical missile components to be built here and delivered in 2030, which is in line with the National Defence Strategy timelines. 

This is great news for our Defence Force, we'll benefit from a more assured weapon stocks into the future. It's also great news for Australians. 

Today I'm also announcing an investment of up to $60 million over the next five years to develop the next generation of guided weapon sub‑systems and components, such as hypersonic and long‑range strike missiles. This investment will also deliver prototypes of the critical seeker, fuse and sub‑systems that make up missiles. It will align with the work already being done with the advanced Rocket Motor Technology Development Demonstrator Program done in collaboration with our Five Eyes partners. 

Together, these projects are investments in Australia's advanced high‑tech manufacturing industry, and part of our plan for a Future Made in Australia. The rocket motor facility will create highly‑skilled, well‑paid jobs contributing to the defence of the nation and contributing to a defence industry that already employs more than 100,000 Australians, and that number is increasing. This is all underpinned by the Albanese Government's Future Made in Australia agenda. Today's announcement will improve the resilience of supply chains, provide the greatest strategic sovereignty, enhance export opportunities to deliver more economic and employment benefits, particularly in regional Australia. 

Delighted to answer questions first on this announcement, and then if there's questions on other matters, I'll ask my Defence colleagues to exit. 

JOURNALIST: If I understand you've got three years of study. That seems a bit leisurely. Can't you confess that that first stage, [indistinct] saw what you were doing there as well [indistinct] stage of it? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, Kym, I'm not going to comment about how long the first stage will take. We're going out to market to see what the market can deliver to us. We're releasing a targeted request for information to 15 companies that according to analysis from Defence offer the most credible solutions to be a partner for us, and we'll see what their responses come back to. 

We have money allocated under the $21 billion of the Guided Weapons Enterprise to build the rocket motor factory and then that will contribute to building rocket motors for missiles in this country. 2030 is a realistic and quite frankly conservative estimation on the timing, but I prefer to be conservative rather than be too ambitious at this stage. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, on the $60 million for the next generation technologies, how will that money be committed, will it be through grants, and I know that that it will facilitate partnership with Defence. Can you provide any more detail on what those partnerships might look like? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, it will fund activities in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Group which will allow Australian companies to partner with DSTG to prototype parts, to test parts, to design parts. 

Two of the rocket motors behind us have been a result of cooperation between DSTG and Australian companies. They've been tested, improved, they were on display at the Land Forces Conference only last week, and that's the sort of work you can see, and we've got a clear focus on the seeker, the fusers and the guidance sections, 'cause obviously they're critical parts of the missiles that traditionally have been brought in from overseas. 

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] overnight the Houthis have claimed to hit Central Israel with a hypersonic. Is it a little embarrassing that that rebel group is so much further ahead than our own country, and when could we expect to have that kind of capability?   

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'm not going to comment on unverified claims from groups like that. What I can say to you is we came into government in the middle of 2022. We found a GWEO enterprise that lacked the resources that needed to deliver for this country. We've allocated $21 billion over the next 10 years, and despite a poo‑pooing from the Opposition and commentators, we'll be manufacturing missiles in this country in 2025.

Secondly, we'll also be building a factory, the first one outside Norway to build some of the most advanced cruise missiles in the world, and those missiles will start to be produced in 2028. So we are getting on with this at light speed, and we can mobilise and resource information to build an Australian missile manufacturing industry in this country. 

JOURNALIST: Will these missiles be for ADF purposes or sell them to other countries? 

MINISTER CONROY: The primary purpose is to equip the Australian Defence Force, and so we've chosen ‑ the first two ranges of missiles that we've contracted for are the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, GMLRS, which is an army missile for the Australian Army, and then the naval strike missile, equipping the Royal Australian Navy in the joint strike missile that will go into the Air Force. 

Importantly, we're building capacity beyond our needs, because that's how you get economies of scale, and we've got an intention of working with countries like the United States, potentially supplying them or other like‑minded partners. And if you look at GMLRS, we've been very clear that we'd rather manufacture thousands of them than hundreds, and the outcomes of the AUSMIN discussions have been very positive about the US engagement with us on this. 

JOURNALIST: With this new company for [indistinct] motor manufacturing, do you envisage it will build rocket motors for all different ranges of missiles, and how will you sort of get around, like, IP concerns and things like that? I mean if one particular American company is given the contract to run the factory, what sort of assurances will there be that other rocket manufacturers will share the technology? 

MINISTER CONROY: Good question, Andrew, and the intention is to create a horizontal prime across multiple missiles. That’s how you get the economies of scale and the expertise and resources to keep developing more advanced rocket motors to eventually get into things like hypersonics. 

So, we envisage this rocket facility, rocket motor facility, manufacturing multiple ranges of missiles. We'll see what the market comes back with when we go out there, but we envisage the first rocket motors that they will be building will be associated with the GMLRS missile, but we'll just see what happens. 

This happens around the world. For example, the companies that produce the rocket motors for GMLRS in the United States are different from the prime – Lockheed Martin is the prime for GMLRS, but the rocket motors are produced by Northrop Grumman and L3Harris, and we've been very clear with the industry. 

Quite frankly, if you look around the world, rocket motors are the pace‑setter for missile production. It is the biggest cause of back logs around the world for production of missiles, so it's in the interests of the country, the company's we're partnering to build missiles to have another source of rocket motor production, not just for Australia, but for the rest of the world. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, following on from Seven News’ Spotlight investigation last night into former SAS Commando Heston Russell, today the ABC has pulled down a clip of some vision which Mr Russell says was doctored to make it look like he was firing indiscriminately on people in Afghanistan. 

What do you think of, you know, the ABC describing that as an error, pulling it down, sort of dubious editing? 

MINISTER CONROY: I'm not going to comment on those claims. I've been focused on today's announcement and building Australian missile manufacturing industry. I'll leave media to talk about media. I'm talking about building missiles in this country to increase national security. 

JOURNALIST: On the face of it though, do you think, you know, painting former commandos as war criminals is acceptable if the evidence isn't there ‑‑ 

MINISTER CONROY: Again, I'm not going to get into that, I'm focused on building missiles in this country to make Australia a safer place and to employ hundreds of Australians, if not thousands. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, you personally, and the government more generally in the past 11 months have repeatedly urged Israel to comply with international Rules of War. But I haven't heard a clear answer to whether you believe Israel has complied with International Law, including IHL, all throughout this conflict. Has it? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, again, that is not something for me to say. I'm not the International Criminal Court. What I can say to you is that we called for an urgent ceasefire in the Middle East. We desperately need humanitarian assistance to go into there. 

While, however, the conflict is ongoing, we urge all sides to respect the International Rules of Law, and I, like many Australians, am disturbed by what I'm seeing on television. 

JOURNALIST: The UK hasn't had any trouble saying that it sees a clear risk of serious violations of IHL. Why can't Australia? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well again, you can ask the UK Government why they're in a position to say that. Andrew. 

JOURNALIST: Can I ask on your Pacific portfolio, can you confirm if Australia has sent a team to help the PIF Secretariat after hackers linked to the Chinese Government claim to [indistinct]?

MINISTER CONROY: I'm not going to comment on any individual instance, but I can say as a matter of course Australia does provide assistance to governments and regional institutions in the Pacific to support cyber security, but I won't comment on it. [Indistinct]. 

JOURNALIST: Have you had any discussions with our US friends about when they intend to roll out a Pacific narcotics policing initiative? 

MINISTER CONROY: Again, I don't comment as a matter of course on discussions that I may or may not be having with countries around the world. What I can say to you is that the recent Pacific Islands Forum, we were delighted that the Pacific Island Forum leaders endorsed the Pacific Policing Initiative, which was a great example of the Pacific looking to the Pacific for its security. 

Australia was privileged to be supporting that, and this is a case of Pacific‑led and Australia‑backed, and that's a great example of the Pacific looking to its own security. 

JOURNALIST: Do you support the US entering a policing deal with Pacific countries on drug trafficking? 

MINISTER CONROY: Again, I'm not familiar with the [indistinct]. 

JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about China [indistinct] Pacific police [indistinct] given you've said China should have no policing role in the Pacific? 

MINISTER CONROY: I stand by my previous statements on this matter. They reflect the views of the Pacific Island Forum leaders. The 2022 Communique said quite clearly that if there are gaps in the security of any Pacific nation, they should look to the rest of the Pacific to fill them. 

What the Pacific is doing on the Pacific Policing Initiative is a great example of that, where it's a $400 million initiative with three strands of it: a Pacific policing unit, four regional training Centres of Excellence, and a support hub at Pinkenba in Brisbane. 

This is a great example of the Pacific looking after its own security, building on the success of the recent deployments to the Solomon Islands for the Pacific Games and their elections where we had Australian Federal Police, Australian Defence Force, Papua New Guinean police, Fijian Military and New Zealand [indistinct] to provide security to those very successful events. And that's a great model going forward, one that's overwhelmingly supported by Pacific leaders and Australia's privileged to support that as a proud member of the Pacific family. 

JOURNALIST: So, the two programs today ‑‑ 

SPEAKER: Last question. 

MINISTER CONROY: You two and then Roy. 

JOURNALIST: Okay. Thanks. Are there any provisions to target Australian SMEs, or is it generally for any companies registered in Australia whether they're foreign‑owned or not, and does it include the $60 million bracket, given its for next‑generation technologies? Is there a pathway to procurement in the same way that [indistinct]? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, we envisage in all our funding ‑ well, not all, that should be very clear ‑ in the majority of our funding announcements around building a missile manufacturing facility, we pay a lot of attention to building with Australian, local content into the supply chain, with componentry.  

For example, a very significant part of the $850 million announcement for Kongsberg was resources to build out the supply chain for that with Australian suppliers. So that $60 million will improve the capability of Australian companies to build parts for missiles and develop new missiles, particularly in hypersonics. The 15 companies that have been targeted with the RFI are a mixture of Australian SMEs, Australian primes, and foreign primes. 

SPEAKER: Kym, last question. 

JOURNALIST: Thank you. Speaking of SMEs, the vibe at Land Forces last week amongst a lot of SMEs was concern that the Defence budget is being distorted with AUKUS vacuuming up a lot of the money. Do you have, like, forward visibility of what the ASA is doing, and do you have confidence that they're managing the dollars? 

MINISTER CONROY: I reject the characterisation, Kym – that won't surprise you. As I've said, we've increased the Defence budget by $5.7 billion over the forward estimates and $50.3 billion over the next decade.

We are spending record amounts on the Australian defence industry in dollar terms, and that is leading to a growth of employment in the Australian defence industry, and that's even before we've really ramped up the AUKUS activity. 

So record amounts on Australian Defence. That will get greater and greater as AUKUS flows through and we grow those 20,000 jobs, but we're spending very significant amounts to grow Australian jobs to help defend Australia and support the Australian Defence Force. 

Thank you very much.

ENDS