Doorstop, Rheinmetall Defence Australia

SUBJECTS: First Australian-built heavy weapons carrier vehicle; Boxer reconnaissance vehicle; Australia’s deepening industrial cooperation with Germany.

NATHAN POYNER: We're delighted to have all of you, Minister Conroy and Minister Pistorius here today, hopefully you've both been able to see a fantastic manufacturing facility that we've built up here over the past six or seven years, and we're delighted to display to you today the first Australian-built heavy weapons carrier vehicle ready for export to Germany and also the Australian-built Boxer reconnaissance vehicle.

With that, I will hand over first to Minister Conroy.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY, PAT CONROY: Thank you, Nathan, and it's a great pleasure to welcome Minister Pistorius to Queensland during a very successful and fruitful trip that has brought our two nations even closer together. The relationship between the two countries is the strongest it's ever been, it's symbolised by the heavy weapons carrier behind us, which combines the best of German engineering with the best of Australian manufacturing know-how to make both our countries safer.

This is a symbol of our two countries cooperating and the whole being greater in the sum of the individual parts, and the announcements are the MOU that we signed today, built on a very successful MOU that Minister Pistorius signed with the Deputy Prime Minister yesterday.

So I'll hand over to Minister Pistorius for some opening remarks, and then we'll kick it over to questions.

FEDERAL MINISTER OF DEFENCE OF GERMANY, BORIS PISTORIUS: Thank you. Thank you for being here ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday we tested our two nations' defence capabilities in Canberra. Today, here at Rheinmetall Defence Australia, we are literally dealing with heavy metal, and even though we are at the opposite end of the world, right now we are also dealing with the [indistinct] augmentation of [indistinct] material.

[Indistinct] Australia's manufacturing Boxer Reconnaissance here, including those for Germany. These the heavy weapons carriers for our infantry, for what will be the new medium forces of our Army.

These medium forces will be highly mobile and powerful at the same time. The heavy weapons carriers will provide them firepower, range, speed and protection.

We have procured 123 vehicles, some 100 of which are coming from Europe and Australian that we left in Germany. Production capacities were less. In Australia, the Boxer has already been built and is used by the armed forces. Production line and the necessary [indistinct] in short, this helps our material location.

The first German-made pre-production vehicles are to be delivered before the end of March. Our [indistinct] we use them for training starting in July. We expect the first vehicle from Australian production to be delivered from mid-2026. This Boxer cooperation is much more about - it's about more than just manufacture, it is also about transfer of technology, about transiting industry and about changing lessons learnt.

Germany provides know-how [indistinct] change receives Boxer vehicle for its [indistinct]. In turn, production in Australia [indistinct] its industrial bases down under, here in Queensland and now our Army maintains an exchange with Australia's armed forces on question of in-service use.

One example for this is the Talisman Sabre exercise which our Army participates every two years. As you can see those countries benefit from this. I look forward to seeing the very [indistinct] election with the second [indistinct] as we've seen before. Thank you very much.

MINISTER CONROY: Questions. Who would like to go first?

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] for the Defence Minister, [indistinct] question for the Defence Minister, oh, the Australian Defence Minister, sorry. Would you tell us a little bit more about this letter of intent for the missiles? What does that mean for Australians?

MINISTER CONROY: Appreciate it. So Australians’ weapons enterprise is all about us having greater self-reliance, greater sovereignty, the events in the Middle East demonstrate that we need to be able to make all things for Australia and support our partners.

We're building four - we have plans to build four different missiles in this country, we're building three different missile factories, and we've already started manufacturing the first missile, which started in December last year. We'll be building the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile and Naval Strike Missile, with factory being complete early next year.

A critical part of those missiles is the warhead, that warhead is produced by a great German company called TDW, and the letter of intent signed today is about plans for them to transfer their manufacturing know-how to build that warhead in Australia so that we can build those strike missiles in this country to not only support our Defence Force but to support allies and partners around the world.

So this is another example of German-Australian cooperation that makes Australia safer and [indistinct] supply line for countries in Europe.

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] German Agency [indistinct] and a question for both of you. This is all about deepening cooperation. At the same time, there's reports from Washington that the US Government might stop the deal to support Ukraine with weapons in return for money from Europe. What does this say about intensifying cooperation, and have you been informed about this step, and [indistinct] Minister Pistorius, [foreign words].

BORIS PISTORIUS: [Speaks German].

MINISTER CONROY: I agree with Minister Pistorius's comments, and I want to pay tribute to the leadership of the Minister and the Government in Germany in leading support for Ukraine against the illegal and immoral invasion by Vladimir Putin and Russia. We are proud to be the biggest non-NATO [indistinct] of military assistance, but we gladly say that we are led [indistinct] by the priorities of Ukraine and their key partners like Germany, who have been at the forefront of this.

So we'll continue to support Ukraine and we've made announcements in the last few months to that effect.

JOURNALIST: The next question. [Speaks German].

BORIS PISTORIUS: [Speaks German].

JOURNALIST: [Speaks German].

BORIS PISTORIOUS: [Speaks German].

JOURNALIST: Got a question for Minister Conroy. Just while we're here talking about strengthening defence ties with Germany, is the elephant in the room for you today that we've got President Trump openly saying that Iran - the conflict in Iran is a loyalty test, that he's not impressed with how Australia's responded to helping the US; is that the elephant in the room today?  

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'll leave the commentary to the commentators, but what I can say is, we were not informed about the US strike on Iran before they [indistinct] chose to undertake it, we've been very clear that we're not taking part in any offensive action. We've honoured the one request we've received from the UAE to provide defensive support with the Wedgetail and the AMRAAM missiles, and we've made it very clear that that's the extent of our involvement.

What today is about is deepening our industrial cooperation with a greater partner in Germany that is to the advantage of both countries. Rheinmetall Defence Australia is symbolic of the relationship. Minister Pistorius will be going to Quantum after this which is supplying - a great German company that's supplying drones to the Australian Defence Force right now.

So deepening industrial collaboration makes both countries safer, it creates jobs in both countries, it gets equipment into our militaries faster than it would otherwise be, and it's the definition of win-win.

We've been [indistinct] Future Made in Australia also focused on supporting allies and partners where it works for both sides. This is about our sovereignty, our self-reliance and making more things here, and we don't resile from that one iota.

JOURNALIST: And I just want to clarify as well, just some general details about the announcement. How many of the machines are we intending to send to Germany and how many are we announcing are actually going today for use by July for that training?

MINISTER CONROY: So the contract that we announced a couple of years ago was for the supply of 100 Australian-made heavy weapons carriers for the German military. The one behind us is the first manufactured here that will go to Germany, and those deliveries will take place over the next few years.

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] for the question for the German Defence Minister [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: [Speaks German]?

BORIS PISTORIUS: [Speaks German].

JOURNALIST: Minister Pistorius, you saw firsthand yourself this morning the Ghost Bat aircrafts at the Amberley Air Base, is your Government looking to purchase any of those aircraft from Australia?

BORIS PISTORIUS: Well, as I mentioned already yesterday at the Press Club in Canberra, this is nothing I would answer in public just after [indistinct] we are making our processes as weeks to come, government will make a decision as soon as possible. Of course this is a very serious competent competitor, and we will see what's going to be the [indistinct].

JOURNALIST: I've got one for Minister Pistorius. I'd like to go back to a point in English, [indistinct] by the way that was just made by my German colleague here, statements by Marco Rubio and Donald Trump saying that if Europeans feel that Iran is not our war, then we don't think the US meaning - or that Ukraine is not our war, meaning the US. I think I've got that correctly. What do you think that actually says about the status of Transatlantic relations at the moment; is it that transactional?

BORIS PISTORIUS: Well, to be honest, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow and what will be the assessment the day after tomorrow. What I think, and I made it quite clear before in my answer to [indistinct] it is about to compare the wrong things with each other, they are free to do that, but I am free not to follow that.

So we have different opinions about that. We need, both of us, we need to stay committed to the alliance and this is what it is about, and some differences in certain assessments mustn't change that effort we need to have.

JOURNALIST: My question's for the Minister Pistorius. Australia's currently dealing with some acute problems with our own supply —   

BORIS PISTORIUS: With what?

JOURNALIST:  — acute problems with our own supply chains, like distance. Given this is such an important piece for Germany's military, is there not some risk having it being produced so far from Europe?

BORIS PISTORIUS: No, not at all. We are absolutely committed to that agreement, and we agree - as I learned today once more by Rheinmetall, all supply chain issues are solved, they are on track with everything in terms of production, so we are absolutely convinced that this will work out for the months and years to come.

JOURNALIST: Okay, that was the last question. Thank you very much. Another question to our Minister. [Speaks German].

BORIS PISTORIUS: [Speaks German].

JOURNALIST: Okay, thank you very much.

SPEAKER: Thank you.

[Multiple speakers].

ENDS