Sophie Mirabella: on Defence Capability

Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Women and Youth) Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to talk about a very important matter that goes to the core of government’s role, and that is Australia’s defence capability. Defence needs to be deployable, equipped and supplied to do its job. In order to be deployable, equipped and supplied to do its job, Defence needs some sort of indigenous capacity for local manufacture—it just makes sense. Defence is not like any other arm of government or any other government department—the member for Charlton sitting at the table opposite knows something about defence procurement. If our forces are to have certainty and the quality needed to do their job then we need to ensure that our government takes specific steps to ensure that we retain some sort of indigenous capacity. If we do not, and we outsource everything overseas, then we may as well give the game away.

We cannot rely on some bean counter in Canberra to say, ‘It is cheaper in China; let’s go offshore.’ For Defence, this is too simplistic and it is far too dangerous. Take, for example, the product that I am very proud to say is manufactured in my electorate by Bruck Textiles. They are in Wangaratta and they are not going offshore—one of the few textile manufacturers who have consolidated their position over the last few years in difficult circumstances that have seen other textile companies go by the wayside. They produce the camouflage material that is used by our forces. It is a chemically treated fabric and it has certain spectral qualities.

Imagine if this sort of product were produced overseas. The spectral qualities in the fabric give security to our men and women, who give of themselves and put themselves in danger overseas. How could we be certain that an overseas supplier would never use the information contained in that technologically advanced fabric against our men and women? To a soldier, certainty in the quality of the equipment they use—from the electronics to the uniform—is very important. And it is very important for them to know that our enemies and potential enemies do not have that information.

We would be absolutely foolish to allow the exportation of entire industries overseas. I am on the record on this. Even before I was elected, I campaigned very heavily and argued quite strongly on such an issue. I was pleased to be supported by and to work together with the then candidate for Farrer, Sussan Ley, and Sharman Stone to fight to retain an indigenous capacity to produce propellant in Australia. That has indeed come to pass and the plant at Mulwala is being built.

But we need to know what the government’s position is on Australian workers supplying Australian diggers and emergency services with fabric made in Australia. Do the government agree with their ACTU mates that they do not want to wear foreign made uniforms? I have to tell you this: any soldier fighting for their country would expect to wear a uniform of that country, not one made in Communist China.

I am very proud that we have a textile company like Bruck textiles. They are innovative. They have acquired other businesses whose capacity has disappeared, who have fallen by the wayside. Bruck are prepared to take up some of the slack in other businesses that are currently in trouble and I am very proud that they have made the hard decisions over the years to do that.

Pacific Brands have taken $17 million of government handouts and are now going overseas. The question for the government and for other companies like Pacific Brands is: are Pacific Brands true to their word that they will engage with any genuine buyer of the business divisions with manufacturing sites that are earmarked to close? If they are, they should stick to their word, and the government has a responsibility to ensure that the assurances Pacific Brands have given are genuine. The government needs to give assurances and to make it a high priority to recognise the strategic importance of defence and emergency services textile manufacturing. This government needs to support Australian businesses within our nation which want to grow our jobs, and not reward companies like Pacific Brands who take jobs offshore. (Time expired)