No images? Click here Message from the Western Australian Defence Advocate Deputy Secretary of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, Tony Fraser, hosted the regular teleconference for Defence Advocates, state departments and defence industry associations with the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP on the 7th of May. Minister Price rang in from Kalbarri where she was visiting constituents and following up on repairs post the destructive damage of Cyclone Seroja. Key points arising from the meeting were:
Minister Price began her meeting by reflecting on how far we have come since the COVID-19 pandemic commenced early last year. She spoke about the promising indicators of continued economic improvement such as the increase in intercity travel. She was also pleased to report that to date, over 2.4 million Australians have received vaccinations. The Minister discussed the federal Budget, reminding all, that the Defence budget funding model of guaranteed funding of $575 billion over the next decade will be reinforced in the Budget. As part of the Budget, the accelerated payments for defence industry for payments under $1 million will continue until the end of this financial year but for greater amounts, the accelerated payments will cease at the end of May. This has been a very successful initiative across the pandemic to keep the critical cash flowing for SMEs but in light of the economic improvement, invoicing will return to set Commonwealth contracting rules at the commencement of the new financial year. Minister Price briefly addressed two recent initiatives, namely skilling and secondments. The second skilling and workforce summit (conducted virtually), which concentrated on youth employment, has just been completed and the outcomes will be released shortly. Last month’s launch of the pilot defence industry secondment initiative to place ADF and APS personnel into industry has created great interest with 44 companies already registering to take the seconders and already 77 volunteers have indicated interest in the secondments. As previously advised the CASG/Minister monthly teleconference will invite a guest to brief on matters pertinent to defence industry. The guest for this meeting was Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Marg Staib AM CSC, the Australian Government Freight Controller. AVM Staib reinforced Minister Price’s message of economic recovery but also acknowledged the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 breakouts, disruption of trade with China, reduced freight trade to the Middle East and the vaccine rollout. As an example of ongoing growth she said there were 636 flights out of Australia last week! While this reflected a marked increase to New Zealand it was also an indication of airlines making commercial decisions to return to the market. However, the AVM was in no way downplaying the present difficulty in freight movement and advised Commonwealth support would continue until at least the end of November. She noted that air freight was still two to four times the cost of pre COVID-19 times. She also pointed out that sea freight costs continue to rise, exacerbated by the recent Suez Canal blockage and the increasing cost of sea containers. AVM Staib did highlight some positives out of the present situation: market diversification, the “reconstitution and consolidation” of freight and innovation on different ways of packaging. She completed her presentation by promoting the Australian Government Productivity Commission Report on vulnerable supply chains. The Australian Government asked the Productivity Commission to examine the nature and source of risks to global supply chains. An interim report was publicly released on the 26th of March with the final report due in July. The Productivity Commission has developed a framework to identify supply chains that are vulnerable to disruption, and applied it to Australian imports. The Commission has also identified strategies to manage supply chain risks and the circumstances under which government might intervene. Minister Price concluded the meeting by highlighting the recent launch of the fifth edition of the Australian Defence Sales Catalogue. The catalogue is a key export marketing tool, showcasing Australia’s world-leading companies, products and service. A total of 214 Australian small businesses represented from every state and territory are featured in this year’s edition, a 25% increase from the previous edition. There are 13 Western Australian companies included in this edition of the catalogue. Raydon Gates AO CSM Rear Admiral RAN (Rtd) |