Doorstop, Perth

SUBJECTS: Orbital UAV Systems visit; Defence industry; Drones and autonomous systems; Middle East Conflict; AUKUS; ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters' Wives

ANNE ALY, MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS: Well welcome everyone to Balcatta, to Orbital which is the world's best manufacturer of drone engines. The world's best right here in Balcatta, in the heart of Cowan. It's an absolute pleasure this morning to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister here. And thank you to Steve and the team for showing us around here at Orbital, which is also a WA icon here, been around for 50 years. The work that Orbital does here, you'll hear a little bit more from the DPM, and of course, from Stephen and the team here at Orbital themselves, but I do want to make a point about the capacity that they build here in Australia - of Australian small businesses, in Western Australia - in their supply chains, in their manufacturing right here on this site here in Balcatta. So it's great to be here this morning. We've learned a lot about drone engines and the capabilities of drone engines, not just for defence, but also in the commercial space as well. And I'll hand over to Deputy Prime Minister to talk a little bit more about that. 

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you. It’s great to be here with Anne Aly. Anne is the Minister for many things, but is the Minister for Small Business, but of course is also the local member, the Member for Cowan. It's great to be here with Anne and Stephen. Thank you for Stephen Pearce. Thank you for hosting us here at Orbital, at what is a really impressive company. Orbital has been around for 50 years, as Anne has said, but in recent times it has become focused in terms of its business on engines for drones. And what we are really seeing in the way in which war and conflict is happening, is that drones and autonomous systems are becoming increasingly important. It's why in the recent National Defence Strategy and the Integrated Investment plan that we announced a $12 to $15 billion program in respect of drones - seeing drones completely central to the force structure of the Australian Defence Force. And we are doing that, but defence forces around the world are obviously doing that as well, and that is very much at the heart of Orbital’s business. This is a business which does do some domestic supply, but is fundamentally an export business. It’s really demonstrating the power of Australian defence industry and the exports from Australian defence industry in terms of building our strategic space. Orbital supplies to companies like Textron and Boeing. In doing so is a demonstration to those companies, but to the world of Australian know how, Australian technology, Australian capability. So there's a really important role that Orbital is playing in respect of that. But Orbital’s presence here and the capability that it has here adds to our own sovereign industrial capability. And again, in the National Defence Strategy, we made it really clear that a strong Australian defence industry is completely central to our sovereign capability, to our resilience, to what we need to have in place to make sure that we have the defence force needed to keep Australians safe. I really appreciate Stephen showing us around here today. This is a company which is going from strength to strengthen. Stephen will probably talk about it, but there are absolutely plans here to grow. And of course, the final point to make is that this is building capability for Australia, but it's also providing really well paid, high skill jobs right here in Perth, right here in Cowan, and that is a really important contribution to the Western Australian and the national economy.

STEPHEN PEARCE, ORBITAL CEO: Thank you for coming, both of you, here today. It's great to get this recognition at a federal and local level. The level of work that's gone in this company is quite phenomenal. As the Minister said, it's very much about sovereign capability. We produce military grade engines for some major OEMs around the world. We supply to the ADF here in Australia. We're also very focused on the commercial market, which is a very rapidly growing market. We actually expect that market to exceed the military market over the next five years, around those regulatory changes that are coming through at the FAA and CASA level. So we're very excited as a business. We are starting to look at global expansion. We're looking at raising capital at the moment to fund that, and we're getting some great customers globally. We've got 14 customers across the world; Middle East, in India, in the US, in Europe and so we very much have that international focus. And, you know, I think this is a great business that's been going under the radar in Perth for a number of years, and now I'm hoping that we can get a larger profile and today's visit is really around raising the profile of the business to support that growth that we’re going through at the moment.

JOURNALIST: More is being spent, but is more needed of a focus on drones, given what you said about the modern warfare strategies – what at we’ve seen in Ukraine, the Gulf. Should some of the AUKUS money be redirected to drones?

MARLES: Well it's not about looking at any other particular program, but it is very much about increasing the focus on drones. And in the National Defence Strategy, we absolutely increased our expenditure on autonomous systems and drones. And I think what we’re– Orbital is a really good example of the capabilities that are being developed here in Australia, the industrial capabilities. But through, you know, larger platforms such as Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark, which feature prominently in defence planning now, you really are seeing Australia as a leading country in respect of the development of drone technology – in respect of those two platforms at the larger end of the spectrum, but you look at what Orbital is doing here, I mean, these are world class engines which are contributing to really important platforms. So we will see– I mean, I think you'll see drones continue to grow in terms of their place within the Australian Defence Force, but that's very much what you've seen in what we’ve announced with the NDS. 

JOURNALIST: Will domestic manufacturing be ramped up for drones in Australia, or do we need to look to allies for the sort of required economies of scale for the level of drones that you will need?

MARLES: I mean, the answer is both, actually. But to perhaps start on the domestic side, we really are seeing a huge increase in the domestic capability to manufacture drones, and across the board. There are really significant companies now in Australia which are which are world leading, and Orbital is a perfect example of it. But across the country, you're seeing that. But I think what you're also seeing is that with that larger end of the spectrum, thinking about Ghost, which is really the world's leading collaborative combat aircraft; Ghost Shark, which is probably the leading long range-autonomous submarine – these are being made in Australia and and we are very much seeing a domestic capability. We need, in terms of the Australian Defence Force’s capability, drones across the entire spectrum of capability. And there is definitely a matter of acquiring some capabilities from overseas, but we are very much playing our part in terms of what we're contributing. 

JOURNALIST: Donald Trump has this morning paused Operation Freedom for quote, ‘a short period’. What does that mean? And does it increase the livelihood of our own naval assets being sent to the Strait of Hormuz?

MARLES: Look, I think what I would say is a few things. Firstly, I mean, obviously we want to see the Strait of Hormuz be open. That is really important to Australia's national interest, and we can all see that in terms of the way in which the global fuel supply chain has been disrupted by its closure. We are engaging with our friends and allies, with France, the UK, but with the US as well in terms of a range of planning meetings about what future scenarios might look like in respect of the Strait of Hormuz, but that is all contingent on when conditions allow any operation to occur. I mean, those conversations continue. It’s obviously difficult to speculate about what that might mean in terms of Australian contribution, we do have our E-7 in the region playing a very important role right now, in respect of the defence of countries in the Gulf, particularly the UAE. We'll continue to have those conversations with our friends and partners. 

JOURNALIST: Is the Navy preparing for a possible deployment to the Strait?

MARLES: Look again, I'm not going to speculate about the specific contributions that we would make. We are engaged in conversations with all of our friends and partners around what the future might look like.

JOURNALIST: Pete Hegseth has again called out Australia said, quote, ‘we hope Australia will step up and Europe steps up, we're not waiting for them.’ Why hasn't Australia stepped up?

MARLES: Well, again, all I can say is we are engaging with our friends and partners, and that does include the United States on what the future might look like in terms of any operations. We are in the Middle East right now with our E-7 making a contribution to the defence of the states of the Gulf. As I've said previously, that was actually something that the United States was interested in seeing happen, and Australia playing a part. We acted in response to a request from the United Arab Emirates, but we are playing our part in the defence of the Gulf states. And we continue to have conversations with our friends and partners around what any future operations might be, but that is all contingent on when conditions allow. We don’t have that situation right now.

JOURNALIST: Have you received a direct request from the US for naval support (inaudible)? 

MARLES: We don't have a direct request, no. I mean what we are engaging in, conversations, planning conversations with United States, with the UK, with France. All of it is really contingent on what circumstances allow in the future. And no one knows that yet. And so it is impossible to be putting in place and operate a specific operation, and it doesn't serve to kind of speculate what we may or may not contribute to any given operation. So I won't do that, but we are very much a part of those conversations.

JOURNALIST: Have you revisited the orders given to Australian Submariners on board US submarines, in case they become involved in a strike on Iran?

MARLES: Look, the basis on which Australian personnel are embedded in the various defence forces which we cooperate with around the world remains the same and is clear, and that's very much the case with the United States. Those personnel are playing a really important role. They're gaining critical experience. They are contributing to the United States Navy, but they're creating critical experience in terms of us developing our own nuclear powered submarine capability. Those submariners who are operating on Virginia class submarines within the United States Navy, but they do so on the basis of operating within Australia's national interest, and those understandings remain completely in place.

JOURNALIST: We've been told before that those Australian Submariners didn't take any part in those attacks. We've been on those submarines, they are not large spaces that in and amongst the US submariners, and they must be present when these things are happening. That level of separation can't actually be that great?

MARLES: Well look, we were not part of that particular incident, we've made that clear. There are really clear guidelines submariners operate within. I'm not going to go into more detail on what we've already stated, but that is clearly understood by both the United States Navy and also our personnel who are aboard these vessels. Across the operations of the submarines, they play an important role getting critical experience. This is a partnership which is really important for both countries.

JOURNALIST: Marco Rubio has said that Operation Epic Fury is over and that the objectives have been achieved, but nuclear uranium material hasn't been handed over, the Strait of Hormuz is in a worse situation than it was before the US started this conflict. Has anything been achieved?

MARLES: Well, ultimately, that's a question that can really only be answered by the United States and by Israel, but clearly, in terms of their public statements, they have articulated that they have significantly degraded Iran's capabilities in terms of acquiring a deployable nuclear weapon. That is an important objective. We have, from the outset, made it clear we support that objective. And as I say, in terms of the public statements of the United States, they are saying that they have gone a long way down the path of meeting that objective.

JOURNALIST: Why can't Australia block the ISIS brides cohort from returning?

MARLES: So let me be really clear, we are doing nothing to support the return of these people. That's the most important statement for me to make here. I'm very mindful that both the Minister for Home Affairs and the Prime Minister have spoken on this question today, so I think I'll leave further comment to them, but just make it really clear we are not providing any support to the return of these people.

JOURNALIST: The government not providing any support, should there be any consequences for other Australian citizens who are providing support?

MARLES: Well, again, I mean, it's obviously people need to be operating within the law, but we are not providing any support. Where there are breaches of the law, those who are in breach of the law will face the consequences of the law. Let me be clear about that. And again, both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs have made that point. But, you know, I think I'll leave the rest of the comments to both of them.

JOURNALIST: Other people facilitating their return doesn't appear to be captured by current laws.

MARLES: Well, again, both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs have spoken on this today. I think I'll leave the further commentary to them.

JOURNALIST: The government is spending $3.2 billion dollars to establish a fuel reserve. Will some of that be used for the Defence Force, or is it solely for commercial use?

MARLES: That is very much focused on commercial use. I mean, we have, within the Defence Force, been focused on our own fuel reserves since coming to government, and in fact, we've doubled the fuel reserve capacity of the Australian Defence Force since we've come to government over the last four years. So we've done quite a lot of work in respect of Defence's own situation. But the announcement today is for the broader economy.

JOURNALIST: The government is axing the Melbourne to Brisbane rail project, what impact will this have on regional Victorians?

MARLES: Look, I think others have, again, spoken on that. I mean, we are very focused on the infrastructure of the nation, and we're very focused on the infrastructure of Victorians, and we've made significant statements and commitments in respect of Victoria.

JOURNALIST: Can I just ask Minister Aly on the ISIS brides? It's your area of expertise. Are these people a threat to Australia?

ALY: If you cast your mind back to 2014/2015, when at the height of ISIS activities in Syria, you'll recall that it would have been very, very difficult for any individual, male or female, to travel into that region. There were laws enacted to make it unlawful. There were travel warnings at the time. It would have been pretty impossible, I would say, to get into Syria without some form of facilitation, planning and coordination. That indicates, then, that anyone who went there at that time went there with a nefarious purpose, with a commitment to the ISIS agenda of establishing a caliphate by violent means. I think that is a very serious situation that needs to be considered when we undertake threat assessments. I also have the utmost confidence in our security agencies that they are undertaking those threat assessments. You would have heard Commissioner Chrissy Barrett speak this morning about the consistent assessments that have been undertaken over the past 10 years of women in the various camps in Syria. And I think that every single Australian and every single member of this government, indeed, has absolute and should have absolute confidence in the capacity of our security agencies to assess risk.

JOURNALIST: Does Labor need to distance itself from Dr Rifi as a result of his assistance to this group?

ALY: Again, I'll go back to what the Deputy Prime Minister said. There have already been comments made on these by the Home Affairs Minister and by the Prime Minister. And I will go back to their commentary and leave that commentary to them. Thank you. Thank you.

ENDS