Radio Interview, ABC Adelaide

SUBJECTS: Kongsberg defence exports announcement, COP31.

RORY MCLAREN: Let's bring in another member of the Federal Defence Ministry line up. And that is Defence Industries Minister Pat Conroy. Good morning to you.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Morning, Rory.

RORY MCLAREN: Minister, you are going to be standing alongside, well, you have been standing alongside Stephen Mullighan, our State Defence Industry Minister this morning talking about missile launchers being made in Adelaide going to Europe. Where are they off to?

MINISTER CONROY: Yes, I announced with Stephen Mullighan this morning a very significant $80 million export deal for Kongsberg Defence Australia to produce missile launchers to go to Spain and Denmark and command and control coastal defence systems to go to Poland. These two export deals are worth a combined $80 million and it adds another 60 high skilled, well paid jobs to the defence industry. And it's a tribute to the skilled workers of South Australia and the strong support from both levels of government that this deal was done.

RORY MCLAREN: Why have these missile launchers been built here and not in other parts of the organisation, Kongsberg's line up?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, this is an example of the Federal Government working with defence companies to use Australia as an export base. Our market is significant, but we get better value for money and we get more jobs if we use our domestic orders as a springboard for international orders. So, we've signed what's called a global supply chain deed with Kongsberg a little over a year ago. And that means that we work with them to get Aussies their products and importantly their Australian supply chain into work around the world. And so that's paid off really early with these dividends. And we're also working with Kongsberg to build a missile factory in Newcastle that will add hundreds more jobs to that company and that will also have the potential to be an export base as well. So, this is an example of the Albanese Labor Government growing the defence industry both by our record investment in defence but also by prioritising exports.

RORY MCLAREN: Can I stay on that idea of supply chain. And I want to ask you about local businesses here in South Australia being able to supply into the US supply chains when it comes to their defence capabilities, particularly their naval defence capabilities. Now we know that the US has been struggling to build the requisite number of Virginia-class submarines it needs for its own demands, let alone supplying Australia in time. Are you doing enough now to help local businesses get a piece of that pie?

MINISTER CONROY: We're doing a lot, to be honest, Rory. We've got over $250 million in programs to qualify Australian companies to win work on the US submarine industrial programs. And I've been very open and honest with people that for most Australian companies who want to win work here,they'll win work first building submarines for the UK, United States and then transition across to submarine construction. So, we've got two programs called DIVQ and AUSSQ that are all about qualifying Australian companies to win work with the Virginia-class submarines because you're right to identify constraints in the US system. Something like 70 per cent of the parts on the critical supply line for the Virginia's a sole source in the United States only have one supplier. So, if anything goes wrong with that company or if they can't expand fast enough, then the whole Virginia-class production line slows down. So, it's in their interest to get more suppliers, it’s in our interest to do that. And that's why we're investing hundreds of millions of dollars into that. And there's some really innovative Australian companies that have a great chance of winning work there and are qualifying right now, as well as established companies like Pacific Marine Batteries that is already supplying batteries into the UK submarine program. So, Adelaide really is punching above its weight in this work already.

RORY MCLAREN: Can I get you to shift your ministerial hats for a moment? Take off the defence industry hat and put on the Pacific Islands affairs hat if you can, Pat Conroy, because I want to ask you about COP31. Are you concerned about how long it is taking to reach a decision about the venue for that particular conference?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'd obviously have loved the decision to be made yesterday in favour of Australia, but Turkey is intent on pushing this claim and that's their right. And we have to go through the internal processes of the sort of group of countries that we're both in to work out who will host COP31. But what I can say to you as the Pacific Island Affairs Minister is that the Pacific is united behind having an Australian climate conference co-hosted with the Pacific. I think it's long overdue that the rest of the world comes to the South Pacific, principally Adelaide, to see the impact of climate change in our neck of the woods and to work out how we can support Pacific nations more in this area because they at the front line of climate change as we are. This is an existential crisis for these countries. I've been to Tuvalu, where 40 per cent of the capital island is underwater already at a high tide. So, we have to do more as a globe to take action. And that's why COP31 being hosted in Adelaide is such an important initiative and it's also symbolic of the Albanese Labor government's commitment to taking action on climate change, not just because it's in our interest to be a good global actor also would deliver a massive jobs dividend for Australians.

RORY MCLAREN: Minister, thank you for your time.

MINISTER CONROY: Thanks, Rory. Have a good morning. Bye. Bye.

RORY MCLAREN: That was Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy a little earlier today. And also before him, Assistant Defence Minister Peter Khalil. 

ENDS