Minister's Message

Australian Minister for Defence Message

The Hon Richard Marles MP
Minister for Defence, Australia

The publication of the 2023 Australian and New Zealand Defence Directory comes at a time of significant global challenges.

War has returned to Europe with Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Within the Indo-Pacific, we are seeing increased strategic competition between major powers, military build-up unaccompanied by transparency or reassurance, and a growing prevalence of coercive grey-zone activities.

The lessons we draw from Europe are profound, particularly as we look to our own region.

The war in Ukraine reminds us that we cannot purely rely on economic interdependence to deter conflict. And that deterrence can fail when one country’s determined military build-up creates an imbalance of military power from which it concludes that the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks – as was Russia’s perilously wrong deduction.

Today the investments that Australia and our allies and partners make in the area of deterrence will help contribute cumulatively to upholding the rules-based international order, to maintaining an effective balance of military power, and to ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains stable, peaceful and prosperous.

Deterrence is a major focus of the Australian Government for our defence planning under the leadership of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

We are revitalising our historically deep engagement in the region, especially in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia, by entering into a new era of collaboration with our regional partners and neighbours.

The Australian Government is committed to pushing forward with plans to equip the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with the capabilities outlined in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, notably, long-range and precision strike weapons, offensive and defensive cyber, and area denial systems.

We have also committed to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership, as well as to accelerating capability development with the United States and United Kingdom in key areas of jointly held expertise, including quantum technology, artificial intelligence, undersea warfare, advanced cyber, electronic warfare and hypersonics and counter-hypersonics.

But what matters most in contributing to deterrence and delivering defence capabilities for the ADF is the strength and standing of Australia’s defence industry.

After all, Australia is home to some of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced capabilities, many of which are used by the ADF and exported for use by overseas customers.

The Government wants to lift the profile of Australia’s defence industry on the world stage and give it the strategic rationale which has been lacking over the past decade.

In this, there are opportunities to create new partnerships with New Zealand’s defence industry given the shared challenges we face and our mutual objectives.

For Australia, we need to strengthen our sovereign capabilities, bolster our manufacturing, and create new local jobs.

When we do these things we not only invest in our self-reliance and sovereign defence industrial base upon which the ADF relies, but we also position our defence industry to integrate further into the industrial bases and global supply chains of our partners and allies.

This, in turn, will translate into opportunities to enhance our defence industry’s reputation, to export Australian products and skills and, most importantly, to contribute towards collective efforts to deter and respond to conflict.

This Government will build on the successes to date through an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary approach to our defence industry policies and support programs.

We will undertake a Defence Force Posture Review to ensure that the ADF’s units, assets and facilities are best prepared to deal with our current and future strategic circumstances. We anticipate that the findings from this review will provide new certainty and direction for industry.

The Government will develop a Defence Industry Development Strategy to clearly articulate our objectives.

And under our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund to drive investment in projects across the country to boost economic development, defence capability will be an important area of focus.

The continuing shocks from the Global Financial Crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the enduring war in Ukraine have reinforced the magnifying consequences of our interconnectedness, the vulnerabilities inherent in international supply chains, and the need for nations to develop sovereign capabilities.

These times compel us to build and maintain a more robust, resilient and internationally competitive sovereign defence industrial base for our nation’s prosperity and the region’s security.

This is what the Albanese Government is doing and it is why we are pleased to support the latest edition of this Directory – because it will help create new collaborations between Australia and New Zealand’s defence industries.

 

The Hon Richard Marles MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister for Defence

Parliament House, Canberra ACT

 

Ministerial Message

The Hon Pat Conroy MP
Minister for Defence Industry

The publication of the 2023 Australian and New Zealand Defence Directory comes at a time of significant global challenges.

War has returned to Europe with Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Within the Indo-Pacific, we are seeing increased strategic competition between major powers, military build-up unaccompanied by transparency or reassurance, and a growing prevalence of coercive grey-zone activities.

The lessons we draw from Europe are profound, particularly as we look to our own region.

The war in Ukraine reminds us that we cannot purely rely on economic interdependence to deter conflict. And that deterrence can fail when one country’s determined military build-up creates an imbalance of military power from which it concludes that the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks – as was Russia’s perilously wrong deduction.

Today the investments that Australia and our allies and partners make in the area of deterrence will help contribute cumulatively to upholding the rules-based international order, to maintaining an effective balance of military power, and to ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains stable, peaceful and prosperous.

Deterrence is a major focus of the Australian Government for our defence planning under the leadership of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

We are revitalising our historically deep engagement in the region, especially in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia, by entering into a new era of collaboration with our regional partners and neighbours.

The Australian Government is committed to pushing forward with plans to equip the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with the capabilities outlined in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, notably, long-range and precision strike weapons, offensive and defensive cyber, and area denial systems.

We have also committed to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership, as well as to accelerating capability development with the United States and United Kingdom in key areas of jointly held expertise, including quantum technology, artificial intelligence, undersea warfare, advanced cyber, electronic warfare and hypersonics and counter-hypersonics.

But what matters most in contributing to deterrence and delivering defence capabilities for the ADF is the strength and standing of Australia’s defence industry.

After all, Australia is home to some of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced capabilities, many of which are used by the ADF and exported for use by overseas customers.

The Government wants to lift the profile of Australia’s defence industry on the world stage and give it the strategic rationale which has been lacking over the past decade.

In this, there are opportunities to create new partnerships with New Zealand’s defence industry given the shared challenges we face and our mutual objectives.

For Australia, we need to strengthen our sovereign capabilities, bolster our manufacturing, and create new local jobs.

When we do these things we not only invest in our self-reliance and sovereign defence industrial base upon which the ADF relies, but we also position our defence industry to integrate further into the industrial bases and global supply chains of our partners and allies.

This, in turn, will translate into opportunities to enhance our defence industry’s reputation, to export Australian products and skills and, most importantly, to contribute towards collective efforts to deter and respond to conflict.

This Government will build on the successes to date through an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary approach to our defence industry policies and support programs.

We will undertake a Defence Force Posture Review to ensure that the ADF’s units, assets and facilities are best prepared to deal with our current and future strategic circumstances. We anticipate that the findings from this review will provide new certainty and direction for industry.

The Government will develop a Defence Industry Development Strategy to clearly articulate our objectives.

And under our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund to drive investment in projects across the country to boost economic development, defence capability will be an important area of focus.

The continuing shocks from the Global Financial Crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the enduring war in Ukraine have reinforced the magnifying consequences of our interconnectedness, the vulnerabilities inherent in international supply chains, and the need for nations to develop sovereign capabilities.

These times compel us to build and maintain a more robust, resilient and internationally competitive sovereign defence industrial base for our nation’s prosperity and the region’s security.

This is what the Albanese Government is doing and it is why we are pleased to support the latest edition of this Directory – because it will help create new collaborations between Australia and New Zealand’s defence industries.

 

The Hon Pat Conroy MP

Minister for Defence Industry

Minister for International Development and the Pacific