Tumultuous week as Coalition considers reconciliation   

At the time of writing, a tumultuous week in federal politics looked like seeing the Liberal Party and Nationals getting the Coalition back together, after their first split in 38 years. Liberal leader Sussan Ley offered to have the Liberal Party room consider the Nationals four non-negotiable policy issues in a bid to resolve the dispute which led to the Coalition collapsing on Tuesday. Ms Ley made the party-room offer after Nationals Leader David Littleproud said Nationals would be willing to respect the principle of Cabinet solidarity and not vote against issues backed by a joint Coalition/Nationals party room. Ms Ley had said previously; Cabinet solidarity was one of the red lines for the Liberal Party. Both party leaders delayed their frontbench reshuffles to allow for a possible reconciliation.  The Nationals had split from the Coalition after the Liberal Party failed to meet four policy demands. These issues included the power to force supermarkets to divest if they misuse market power, retention of a nuclear power policy, retaining a $20 billion Regional Australia Future Fund and ensuring telcos delivered on a universal service obligation to provide phone services in the bush. But Nationals solidarity was already failing with some National MP’s calling for an immediate return to Coalition amid warnings Lower House and Senate seats would be at risk at the next election if the parties did not get back together. But Ms Ley said her door was always open to reforming the Coalition if policy differences could be settled, as did Mr Littleproud. The Nationals held all their Lower House seats at the election, but the Liberals were severely depleted in urban areas. The Labor response from the Prime Minister down has been somewhat muted, although Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the split as a “seismic event’’. Sources suggest the last message the government wants to convey is one of hubris.

Defence falls short on maximising Australian industry content

A long awaited Australian National Audit Office report has found the Defence Department has failed to maximise Australian industry involvement in defence contracts. The audit released on Wednesday found Defence arrangements were only partially fit for purpose. The ANAO examined eight defence contracts and found defence failed to adequately implement industry requirements across those contracts. Defence had also come up short on governance, assurance and reporting arrangements to oversee the implementation of its contracting requirements. These included procurement documents which did not align with industry policy requirements, lack of training for procurement staff, a failure to consult and update industry with required information, a failure to ensure lead contractors complied with commitments to involve local industry. The ANAO has made nine recommendations for improvement, which the department has accepted and committed to implementation. AIDN continues to campaign for reform of defence contracting to ensure greater opportunities for Australian Defence Industry and the SME sector.

Defence Industry Minister Conroy addresses AIDN National Conference

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy was a late inclusion on the speakers list at AIDN’s inaugural National Conference at Benowa on the Gold Coast. The conference is the Minister’s first major defence event of the government’s second term since being reappointed in the wake of the May 3 election victory. Mr Conroy’s’ speech was expected to focus on continuity and stability in defence and delivering on capability in a second term. The conference theme is “Empowering Australia’s Defence Industry for Success’’ and the event serves as a premier forum for defence industry professionals, government representatives, and key stakeholders. Among other guest speakers is Queensland Liberal Deputy Premier, State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and Industrial Relations Minister, Jarrod Bleijie who will officially open the conference. AIDN CEO Mike Johnson will speak on the topic of advancing sovereign capability and industry growth. Omni CEO Jon Hawkins will speak on the topic of sovereign capability in an era of great power tension. There will also be a panel on the hot topic of innovation in AI and robotics.

SME’s sign up for AUKUS pilot

Hundreds of Australian businesses have signed up for AUKUS submarine supply chain opportunities. H&B Defence has begun evaluating hundreds of submissions from Australian businesses to determine their suitability for the AUKUS work environment, following a significant response to an open market Expression of Interest (EOI). Around 200 businesses from across the country have registered for the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Pilot Program EOI within the first three weeks, setting them on a path to qualify and compete for Newport News Shipbuilding supply chain opportunities. The surge in activity coincides with H&B Defence formalising its partnership with HII to spearhead critical supply chain uplift efforts on behalf of the Australian Government, in support of AUKUS Pillar 1. The majority of EOI applications have come from Western Australian suppliers, with high levels of enquiry from Victorian and New South Wales businesses, particularly around Precision Machining opportunities, which forms one of the first two Work Packages on offer alongside Castings and Forgings. Australian suppliers will have the opportunity to register for a total of seven Work Packages across the two-year AUSSQ Pilot Program.

EU industry opportunities wanting

Thinktank Strategic Analysis Australia says the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should have seized on an offer from the European Union to former closer defence ties. EU President Ursula von der Leyen told Mr Albanese this week that the EU wanted to strike a security and cooperation agreement with Australia similar to those it had struck with Japan and South Korea. But Prime Minister Albanese played down the mooted agreement suggesting too much was being read into the EU leaders comments. But former Defence Department official and Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge told Sky News Australia should be far more eager for a defence deal which could provide Australian industry with further valuable export opportunities given the EU’s 150-billion-euro defence spending boost in response to the war in Ukraine. Mr Albanese seems intent on clinching a long delayed free trade agreement with the EU first, before embarking on serious negotiations for a defence and security agreement.