Judy Hinz | Brisbane
On 17 May, more than one hundred delegates gathered at the Innovation Centre of the University of the Sunshine Coast for the inaugural Sunshine Coast Defence Industry Forum, hosted by Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace, and headlined by Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.
For the benefit of southern readers, the Sunshine Coast occupies that area just north of Brisbane between Caloundra and Noosa Heads. It is an area which relies heavily on tourism for its economic well being.
Audience members ... were keen to hear how they could access the Defence business market
Andrew Wallace is relatively new to the Canberra scene. He was elected to the seat of Fisher last year, representing the LNP. He occupies a seat that was, for some time, in the news for all the wrong reasons. The long term incumbent was one time Speaker of the House Peter Slipper. Wallace took over the seat from Mal Brough who held it for one term.
The Defence Industry Forum signals a desire to expand the Sunshine Coast’s narrow economic base. Many believe the growth of the University of the Sunshine Coast, established in 1994, and the building of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, which welcomed its first patients in March 2017, have laid the foundations for a more high technology future for the area.
With the lure of the Government’s commitment to a sustained investment in Australia’s Defence capability, audience members, some of them attending such an event for the first time, were keen to hear how they could access the Defence business market.
The program began with a detailed presentation by the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC), which is a Department of Defence/Department of Industry initiative launched late last year. This was followed by Minister Pyne, who spoke compellingly of the government’s commitment to Australia’s defence industry.
Dr Mark Petrusma, Acting Chief, Science Partnership and Engagement Division, DST Group spoke about the next generation technology challenges and the potential for research collaboration.
Probably of most interest to the audience were the presentations from SMEs who had cracked the Defence market.
Andrew Sanderson, from TAE, described the company’s recent development from a business which began life servicing F-111 engines to a more diverse business that had offered innovative solutions to their Defence customer. He warned that Defence business is a long game and not to expect quick results.
The event was an excellent first step from the energetic Andrew Wallace who is obviously keen to see businesses in his electorate broaden their horizons. While some of the acronyms and the complexity of defence work may have dampened the enthusiasm of some of the delegates, a future event that also included how to access work with the Defence estate and infrastructure sector might prove to be a winner for Sunshine Coast business.
Judy Hinz is the Publisher of ADM.