AIDN procurement reform call

AIDN CEO Mike Johnson called for reform of Defence procurement and Defence industry policy as part of a wide-ranging televised address at the National Press Club this week. The speech was titled The Race for Sovereignty: Building Australia’s Self-Reliant Industrial and Defence Base by 2035. Mr Johnson said AIDN was calling for a series of reforms to Defence procurement to ensure Australia fosters a self-sufficient sovereign Defence industry. These included mandating a minimum percentage of Defence procurement contracts for SME’s; greater release of open tenders to expand direct access opportunities for SME’s across the supply chain; binding commitments for Australian SME content in every Defence program; the new Defence Industry Development strategy in 2026 to prioritise SME led contributions to sovereign capability; the establishment of an independent body to audit Australian Industry Capability plans to ensure SME involvement with publicly reported findings. He said the Australian business definition for g

SME’s face increasing losses from cyber threat

A sobering cyber threat report released by the country’s online watchdog warns financial losses to small and medium business are on the increase. The average loss for a medium sized business from cyber-attack is $97,200 (up 55 per cent on the previous year) and for small business the average loss was $56,600 (up 14 per cent). The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) annual threat report warns the threat from State actors such as China and Russia, and cybercriminals continues to rise. Working from Home devices are viewed as particularly vulnerable. The report suggests they are being targeted by State actors and cyber criminals alike and viewed as the weakest link in corporate systems. Overall, the ASD responded to 1200 cyber incidents in 2024-25, an 11 per cent increase on the previous year. Reported incidents of potential malicious cyber-attack activity were up by 83 per cent while cybercrime reports reached 85,000 or one every six minutes. The ASD recommends a range of counter measures to keep online system

Conroy visits US ahead of PM talks with Trump

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy visited the US this week to take part in an AUKUS industry update ahead of crucial talks between Prime Minister Albanese and US president Donald Trump next Monday. The meetings come as the Pentagon finalises a review of AUKUS to see if it fits with America first principles. US officials have expressed concern about the US ability to sell US Virginia class nuclear powered conventionally armed submarines to Australia from 2032 – a key tenet of the AUKUS deal. This is due to a likely shortage of the vessels for Washington’s own needs. However, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles suggests AUKUS will survive the Pentagon review. Minister Conroy also attended the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition. The AUSA expo is North America’s premier defence land power event and a crucial meeting point for leaders within the US defence industrial base, private-sector and a critical forum for promoting Australia’s defence industry. Minister Conroy also secured a statement of intent with the US in a further step towards co-production of guided weapons. The Statement of Intent was underpinned by the Albanese Government’s investment of up to $21 billion over the decade to establish a sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, boosting industrial capacity and supporting thousands of jobs in Australia’s defence industry. The Joint Statement of Intent was signed with the US and Lockheed Mart

Wedgetail earns its keep in NATO Ukraine effort

Australia’s most sophisticated military surveillance plane was deployed 45 times near Ukraine in the last three months as part of NATO efforts to monitor Russian activity. The missions, which were carried out by a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft and its crew, can now be revealed as the team wraps up a secondment to Poland and heads home to Williamtown, near Newcastle, the ABC reported. A senior NATO official confirmed that the Australian plane was in the air to assist NATO with surveillance when Russian MiG jets violated Estonian airspace for 12 minutes on 19 September. It was also on patrol on the night of September 28, when Ukraine suffered some of the heaviest drone and ballistic missile attacks since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022. The NATO official said about half of the other Wedgetail missions involved the crew scrambling to respond to potential threats. The rest were scheduled patrols. The Wedgetail’s reconnaissance capability, including a radar with a 400-kilometre range,

WA launches “You Can Make it Here’’ skills campaign

The Cook Labor Government has launched a “You Can Make it Here’’ campaign to encourage young people to take advantage of fee free and low fee TAFE courses to bolster a growing and diversifying economy. WA plays a key role in AUKUS with up to 10,000 jobs to be supported through the expansion of HMAS Stirling and the Henderson Precinct over the coming decades. The campaign which includes training opportunities across the breadth of industries in WA, coincides with the end of the school year, when many young people are considering study options for 2026. ‘You Can Make It Here’ features current students and showcases how Western Australians can build successful and rewarding careers. Defence related training courses include those in cyber security, electronics and communication and engineering.