We give up $8b defence dividend

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 3-Dec-25

The federal government’s support for local military suppliers is under scrutiny in the wake of its plans to establish an independent defence procurement agency. Government data shows that the list of the nation’s 15 biggest suppliers of military equipment includes just two that are Australian-owned; they accounted for about $5bn of the $87bn worth of procurement contracts over the last five years. The rest of these contracts were awarded to the subsidiaries of foreign defence contractors. Modelling undertaken on behalf of the Sovereign Australian Prime Alliance suggests that a modest increase in procurement from locally-owned defence companies could boost GDP by up to $8.1bn and create more than 25,000 jobs.

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Labor’s drone ship gamble

Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Feb-24

The federal government will increase its spending on defence to 2.4 per cent of GDP from the early 2030s, in response to the review of the navy’s surface fleet. The government will increase defence spending by $1.7bn over the four-year forward estimates period and $11.1bn over the next decade. Amongst other things, the government will fast-track the acquisition of 11 new general purpose frigates, while the Hunter-class project will be scaled back from nine frigates to just six. The navy will also retire the first of the ageing Anzac-class frigates immediately, while a second will be decommissioned by 2026. The government will invest in a fleet of semi-autonomous ships that are still being developed in the US; these ‘drone’ ships will each have 32 missile cells, significantly increase the navy’s firepower.

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ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY

Japanese subs on the way

Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kerin, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Sep-14

The Australian Government is believed to have decided to purchase a new fleet of submarines from Japan, in a major blow for the local shipbuilding industry. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has warned that the state’s federal MPs will face an electoral backlash if the submarines are built overseas rather than by Adelaide-based shipbuilder ASC. The Federal Government’s 2013 election platform included a commitment to build the submarines in Adelaide

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, ASC PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, SYDNEY INSTITUTE, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DCNS SA, THYSSENKRUPP MARINE SYSTEMS GMBH, SAAB AB