Patrick Durrant | Sydney
“Good Morning, Minister Pyne’s – sorry – Payne’s office”. ADM felt sympathy for the receptionist at the Minister’s office on Tuesday morning – there will no doubt be many faux pas in coming days as the diarchy gets used to the idea of two senior Defence ministers with practically identical surnames.
Of course the surprise announcement of Monday’s minor cabinet reshuffle was the creation of a new Defence Industry portfolio to be led by SA MP Christopher Pyne.
The new seat at the table takes the total number of Cabinet Ministers to 23, the first time this has occurred since the 1970s.
"This is a key national economic role."
In making the announcement, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull alluded to the “most significant naval shipbuilding program since WWII” and said that Minister Pyne would be responsible for “overseeing our new Defence Industry Plan that came out with the Defence White Paper”.
“This is a key national economic role,” PM Turnbull said. “This program is vitally important for the future of Australian industry and especially advanced manufacturing.”
According to the PM, Pyne will oversee the yet to be released Naval Shipbuilding Plan and the “massive defence industry investment and acquisition program on land, in the air and inside cyberspace”.
As ADM went to press, the exact delineation of responsibilities between the two ministers was unclear – the Defence Minister’s office was still awaiting the role definitions from the PM’s office. The Defence Materiel position held by Dan Tehan is defunct, with him taking up the new role of Minister for Defence Personnel in the outer ministry and retaining the role of Minister for Veterans Affairs. Tehan will also assist the PM on cyber security. Michael McCormack has moved from the Assistant Minister for Defence position (also now defunct) to become Minister for Small Business.
The response from industry has been positive, with many welcoming Senator Marise Payne’s reappointment as Defence Minister – a role occupied by four ministers in three years.
They have also received the news of Minister Pyne’s appointment to the new position as a reflection of the growing importance of defence industry to the Australian economy.
The Submarine Institute of Australia said as much in a statement in which it also declared, perhaps unsurprisingly, that “one of the first priorities should be implementation of the $50 billion Future Submarine Program, the largest defence procurement exercise in Australia’s history”.
“Implementation must include effectively managing the transition from the Collins-class submarines to avoid any reduction in submarine force capability.”
Acting CEO of the Defence Teaming Centre Kerryn Smith said the announcement “demonstrates the Government’s clear intent to transform the defence and industry relationship and acknowledge industry as a fundamental input to capability”.
“The appointment of Minister Pyne is a significant win for the national defence industry; as former Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, he already has a strong understanding of the defence industry and our capabilities,” she said.