Radio Interview, ABC Central Victoria

SUBJECTS: GOVERNMENT INVESTS $45 MILLION IN BENDIGO WITH NEW BUSHMASTERS

FIONA PARKER: Well, Federal Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy is in Bendigo this morning to announce a $45 million contract to build 15 more Bushmasters at Bendigo's Thales plant in north Bendigo. These are the vehicles that have been used around the world. They saved lives in Afghanistan because of their agility, being an all-terrain vehicle. And most recently, they've been praised by Ukrainian troops on the front line after Australia sent some over there to help with fighting the Russians after Russia invaded. We know that Fiji has purchased some as well. Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy can tell us about this latest announcement. Good morning and welcome to Bendigo.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Thank you for having me.

FIONA PARKER: Tell us a bit more about what you've announced this morning.

MINISTER CONROY: Yes, I'll be announcing at Thales, Bendigo with Lisa Chesters, the fabulous Member for Bendigo, a $45 million contract with Thales to build 15 additional Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles. These are a special variant. They're called the command and control variant, and these are to equip the new army regiment we're standing up that will have our rocket artillery platforms. So, these are a very advanced form of Bushmaster. And this brings the total number of Bushmasters the Albanese Labor Government's ordered to 93. And in the last couple of years, that's an investment of over $200 million at the Thales Bendigo site, and it supports hundreds of workers, both in Bendigo and around the country, supplying this world leading capability. So, I'm so happy to be here today for that.

FIONA PARKER: So, these particular 15 new Bushmasters, are they being obviously built to the same standard, but then built slightly differently to incorporate that long range fire?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, that will be the command and control for the long-range fire. So, we're buying rocket artillery, and these new Bushmasters will be the command and control element to direct their fire. There's lots of different variants of the Bushmasters. We've got the standard troop carrier that saved lives in Afghanistan and is saving lives in Ukraine right now. You've got ambulance versions. This is a different version, which is basically where the commanding officers and the radio personnel sit in and direct the regiment. So, it's a very exciting variant and it's a testament to the skilled workers at the Bendigo plant that they're able to produce so many excellent vehicles.

FIONA PARKER: Tell us a bit more about the Defence focus on land-based long-range fire capability, what that means and how these Bushmasters help.

MINISTER CONROY: Yes. So, as part of the Defence Strategic Review and the National Defence Strategy that released in April, we're transforming the Australian Army into one focused on two things. One called littoral manoeuvre, which means basically being very agile and able to move around the coast and overseas in landing craft, and to be one focused on long-range fires. At the moment, the longest range weapon the Australian army has can fire about 40 kilometres. We're purchasing high mobility artillery rocket systems, high MARS, that have been used to devastating effect in Ukraine. And they'll have a range initially of around 500 kilometres, but then upwards of 1000 kilometres. So, it's a massive increase in the strike capability of the Australian Army, which is critical.

FIONA PARKER: From 40 kilometres to 500?

MINISTER CONROY: Yeah, absolutely. And this is critical if we're to deter potential aggressors. This is all about avoiding war, and the best way of doing that is letting any potential opponent know that we can really hit back if we're attacked. And this is a critical part of the transformation of the Australian Army. And the Bushmasters are central to that, because you'll have the rocket artillery systems, but you need safe places for their fire to be directed. And that's where these Bushmasters come in. That will be the command element for the new regiment that's being stood up.

FIONA PARKER: Can you tell us more now about how this particular announcement of these 15 new bushmasters will help the local economy in Bendigo?

MINISTER CONROY: Yeah. Well, this will extend the production line. As I said, we've awarded over $200 million worth of contracts to Thales Bendigo to extend the Bushmaster production line, and that supports hundreds of workers in Bendigo. It's a critical centre of manufacturing for our Australian defence industry. We employ about 100,000 people in the Australian defence industry and hundreds of those are in Bendigo. And we rely on them to provide that equipment that protects the Australian Army. And this is a testament to the advocacy of Lisa Chesters, who I've known for 20 years. And my nickname for her is Lisa Chesters, the Member for Bendigo and Bushmasters, because a month doesn't go by where she's not in my ear about how can we support them, how can we get more into the army. Because she knows hundreds of families in this area depend upon that work. And I'm really happy to be making this announcement today that will extend the production line by up to another year.

FIONA PARKER: So, will this create jobs or simply keep jobs at Thales in Bendigo?

MINISTER CONROY: It will support the existing workforce for another year, which is really important. We've designated manufacturing of armoured vehicles as a Sovereign Defence Industrial Priority, which means we need to keep it in this country as a critical part of our sovereignty and self-reliance. And so, we're supporting manufacturers around the country, but particularly Thales in Bendigo, to continue their excellent work and to maintain that really highly skilled workforce that's produced the Bushmasters and the Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light, both vehicles that are critical to the future of the Australian Army and around the world. I was with Prime Minister Rabuka of Fiji in Brisbane last year handing over 14 Bushmasters, and he was delighted that his troops will be getting these. They use them for peacekeeping as part of UN efforts and they will protect their troops and save lives.

FIONA PARKER: Well, we know that Thales, for example, made redundancies last year because they simply didn't have enough contracts. So, are you guaranteeing that you will keep these jobs?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, that was - those redundancies were because of the end of the Hawkei related work. I'm confident we can keep the workforce producing Bushmasters together over the next few years. And we're working closely with Thales and the unions, especially Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, on the long-term future of the site. I'm very confident that the site has a long-term future and we're working on plans around that. This is one step towards that, and this is an example of a tripartite approach that really, I want to see around the rest of the country. The union and the company and the local community speak in one voice about the need to support this capability, and we're really engaging. And Lisa Chesters is a formidable advocate for that, and it is critical to our national self-reliance. So, we'll keep working with them and I'm confident this capability will exist for a long time into the future.

FIONA PARKER: And just finally, Pat Conroy, any more plans to give more to Ukraine?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, we always respond to their requests and their priorities. We've gifted 120 of them to Ukraine and we've just announced a new $250 million package that was centred on air defence and supporting more artillery ammunition. So, we respond to what their priorities are, but obviously Bushmasters are very popular over there and we'll keep talking with the Ukrainian Government.

FIONA PARKER: Thank you for joining us this morning.

MINISTER CONROY: Thank you. Have a great morning. Bye bye.

FIONA PARKER: Enjoy your time in our beautiful part of the world. Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry in Bendigo this morning. Just repeating, $45 million, that contract to build an additional 15 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles.

ENDS