Press Conference, RAAF Base Williamtown

SUBJECTS: Government’s partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture long-range strike missiles.

MERYL SWANSON MP: We are here this morning at RAAF Base Williamtown on the lands of the Worimi people, and I want to thank and welcome you all here this morning. 

It is my absolute delight to welcome to the base Pat Conroy, the Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery; Commander of Air Combat Group, Pete Robinson; Acting Commander of Surveillance and Response Group, Steven [Indistinct]; John Fry, Managing Director of Kongsberg Australia; and Catherine Thatcher, Assistant Secretary for Domestic Manufacturing GWEO Group. 

My name is Meryl Swanson. I am the proud Federal Member for the seat of Paterson, which takes in RAAF Base Williamtown. This is the preeminent RAAF base for that magnificent machine behind us, the F-35. And as of today, this space and our region more broadly – thank you to Newcastle Airport – will be one of the leading facilities in the world for the defence of our nation and also playing our part in the defence of our region and the world. 

I couldn’t be prouder to stand here today and think about the excellence that must prevail to make things like today happen. These announcements and, furthermore, these achievements, the building of serious defence capability, the ability to keep our people safe, doesn’t just happen because we want it to happen; it takes work, it takes imagination, it takes the sort of skill set that we have in our region, and that’s why I’m so proud of the announcement that the minister will make today. 

I again want to thank everyone who has had a hand in making this a reality, and I can’t wait until the good people of our region are participating and making the capabilities that we are going to make here and also reap the benefits of that through well-paid jobs. Thank you one and all. Thank you, Minister. 

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Thank you, Meryl, for your wonderful introduction and everything that you do for the people of Paterson and the people of the nation. Can I also acknowledge the representatives from the Royal Australian Air Force, from the Department of Defence and from Kongsberg Defence Australia. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we live in the greatest strategic uncertainty since 1945. We are seeing an arms race of unprecedented proportions in our region, and the first obligation of any Commonwealth government is to defend our nation, to protect our people and protect our interests. And at the same time what’s become apparent if anyone’s had the – been witnessing what’s been occurring in Ukraine with Vladimir Putin’s illegal and unprovoked and immoral invasion of Ukraine is we really live in the missile age. 

The ability of missiles to strike without warning, to wreak havoc, to deter conflict and inflict damage is something that is living with us every day, and the Defence Strategic Review and the National Defence Strategy made it very clear that we live in a missile age and it’s essential that Australia has the ability to deter adversaries, that we want to hold deterrent – hold adversaries at arm’s length through threat of inflicting damage on them, to make them think twice about taking aggressive measures against Australia or our interests. To do that you need strike capability. To do that you need to have the Australian Defence Force with the best possible equipment, including the ability to strike potential adversaries, to put question marks in the adversary’s mind. 

And in that context, it’s fitting that I am at the premier air combat base for the Royal Australian Air Force, the premier air combat base based in the Hunter with an incredibly strong aerospace supply chain in the Hunter that supports it because I am announcing an $850 million investment in giving the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy the strike capability they need. 

I’m announcing an $850 million investment in the Hunter region’s ability to support the ADF. I’m announcing an $850 million vote of confidence in the workers of the Hunter Valley. Today, as indicated, we are announcing an $850 million investment in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to establish a manufacturing facility to manufacture the Naval Strike Missile and the Joint Strike Missile. The Naval Strike Missile that’s already been successfully test fired off one of our air warfare destroyers is one of the premier anti-ship missiles in the world. It will replace 1970s technology in the Harpoon Missile, and it will be an essential part of our inventory for the Royal Australian Navy. 

At the same time, we are integrating the Joint Strike Missile into the Royal Australian Air Force. The Joint Strike Missile, which is the air-launched version of the NSM, has the ability to sink ships. Both of them have the ability to hit land targets. The strength of the JSM besides its advanced cruise missile status is that it can fit in the belly of the Joint Strike Fighter positioned behind us so it doesn’t compromise the stealth characteristics that make the Joint Strike Fighter one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world. 

This factory will be built on Newcastle Airport land. It will lead to 500 construction jobs and around 100 ongoing, high-skilled, high-tech jobs building those missiles. At full-rate production the factory will have the ability to produce in excess of 100 missiles a year, and it will contribute around $100 million of economic benefits to our region. 

This is only the second factory in the world and the first outside Norway to produce these missiles. And that’s a testament to the skills and experience and passion of Hunter workers. It’s a testament to the cooperation we’re getting from Kongsberg Defence Australia, their Norwegian parent company and, in fact, the government of Norway. But it’s a great compliment to the people and workforce of the Hunter region. 

Importantly, there is a very significant investment in the contract of building up the supply chain of these missiles. Companies are already involved in supporting the Naval Strike Missile, including Nupress in my very own electorate at Cardiff and in supporting the Joint Strike Missile, for example, that BAE produce radio frequency parts for that. 

So there’s already strong supply chain involvement, but we can do better and our plan is to do better. So a significant part of the $850 million investment is for Kongsberg and Defence to fill out the supply chain with Australian componentry. But we want to have an Australian supply chain building these missiles, supplying parts into the manufacturing activity here at Newcastle Airport. And I want to make it very clear. 

The final point I’ll make before I conclude is that we are manufacturing the missiles here on Newcastle Airport, but the explosives, the warhead and the booster for the Naval Strike Missile component will be integrated on Department of Defence land at Orchard Hills, Western Sydney. So we will not be manufacturing explosives in the missile factory; we’ll be manufacturing all the other really important components to make these missiles some of the most advanced cruise missiles in the world. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, this $850 million announcement is a vote of confidence in Hunter workers. It’s a vote of confidence in our ability to make the most advanced strike missiles in the world. And it’s all about a Future Made in Australia where we’re investing in defence, we’re increasing our defence budget massively to protect Australia and its interests, but we’re doing it where we do a Future Made in Australia and we add to the 100,000 people who already work in the Australian defence industry. 

We might take questions first on today’s announcement, and then I’ll ask our Defence and Industry colleagues to exit if there’s any other questions. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, part of this announcement is about sovereign capability. At the moment as I understand it and as you’ve explained, probably most of the components won’t be made in Australia. Is it realistic to expect there will be a time when all of this missile can be sourced from components within this country? 

MINISTER CONROY: I’ll let John supplement my answer, but I am very optimistic and, quite frankly, very ambitious for as much of the subcomponentry to be made in this country. And that’s why we’ve allocated a very significant share of the contract to build out the Aussie supply chain. Importantly, even through the strategy we’re take, we are going to get these missiles faster produced here in Australia than if we were a part of the global queue. So we’re getting them faster and Australian industry is cost competitive. And that’s without having all the subcomponentry made in this country. But it’s our intention to maximise Australian content in these missiles. And I’ll invite John to supplement my answer. 

JOHN FRY: Thank you, Minister. That’s correct. So initially we will be using components from [indistinct] international supply chain [indistinct] qualify [indistinct]. But in parallel we will be qualifying Australian suppliers with the supply chain [indistinct] componentry for the missile. I think there may be some elements, potentially the jet engine, that may still not come from­ be made here, but I think at the moment, you know, we’re looking at all options for opportunities around [indistinct]. 

We are already doing a lot of work on the Naval Strike Missile [indistinct] program, building the actual integrated launch [indistinct] intercept. But, again, this takes it to the next level in terms of opportunities around the actual missiles themselves. Yep. 

MINISTER CONROY: And – thanks, John. And just to add one other element to this – it’s to the just in our interests to build out the Aussie supply chain for these missiles; it’s in the interests of both Kongsberg Defence Australia and their parent Norwegian company. There is massive global demand for these missiles. There’s 3,000 Joint Strike Fighters being either in service or soon to enter service that are looking for strike missile options. Navies around the world are progressively replacing the 1970s Harpoon with a Naval Strike Missile. There is only one factory in the world that produces this, so there’s a significant backlog. So it’s in the interests of Kongsberg not just to build a second factory here but to have an Australian supply chain so they’re not relying on one supplier in Norway to help grow that – help meet that exponential demand. So that’s why I’m really bullish about export opportunities as well supplying the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy.

JOURNALIST: When will construction start here and when will it be completed? 

MINISTER CONROY: So construction will start in Quarter 4 of this year, so before the end of 2024. We anticipate construction will take about one and a half years, so around Quarter 2, 2026 is when the factory will be complete. It will go through its certification process then to test and validate everything, and we’ll be starting missile production in 2027 and full-rate production will occur at the start of 2028. So it’s a very fast-moving piece which represents the strategic urgency of the Albanese Labor government and the strong cooperation from Kongsberg Defence Australia. 

JOURNALIST: When will those jobs be advertised, and what specific roles? Is it engineers, or talk us through that?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I might let John answer that one since he’ll be doing the advertising. 

JOHN FRY: Yes, so we’ll actually commence advertising probably in the next four to six weeks for some of those initial foundation positions, setting up that capability. We already have employees up in Newcastle already setting up the project itself. And we’ll essentially ramp that up once the factory is – the building is complete to then obviously equip the factory. And then we’ll start the training of – recruiting and training of the technicians. 

So it will be quite a mixed workforce. Obviously this is high-tech work. But essentially doing everything from all the supply chain all the way through obviously manufacturing, integration test. So it’s a real mix between supply chain, engineers, technicians and so the employment is going to ramp up in the next couple of years. But it’s a great opportunity obviously to train in Norway and obviously have the Norwegians here as well training that workforce to get that up to a position where we are fully qualified to build these weapons as they do in Norway. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, there’s been some community concern about the Hunter being a base for weapons manufacture. What’s your message for those people? 

MINISTER CONROY: I might answer that one at the end because it may involve a political element, and this Government is very clear that when we talk about politics, I don’t want any public servants or people in uniform that could be co-located with such vision. That would be inappropriate. So I’ll definitely answer that, but I’ll answer that at the end.

Is there any other questions about today’s announcement? 

JOURNALIST: Sure. The site of the plant is quite a large site. I’ve looked at the development application. Is there potential for expansion on that site? 

MINISTER CONROY: Again, I’ll let John answer that one. 

JOHN FRY: So, yep. The facility I think is about 7,000 square metres. There is a small – well, I suppose a modest area to increase that capacity if we need to. So we have built the factory to be quite modular, so if we do need to ramp up production or we look to potentially build something else in that facility in the future as other things come on line, then we have that capability to do so. But at the moment the facility is purpose designed for the capacity that the Minister mentioned. 

MINISTER CONROY: Any other questions about the announcement before I go to addressing the concerns of a certain councillor? 

JOURNALIST: Who will be purchasing these missiles, and where will they be used? 

MINISTER CONROY: So they will be – we’re progressively installing Naval Strike Missile launches on our key naval vessels, so our air warfare destroyers and our Anzac class frigates. We had our first test firing off an air warfare destroyer and operate exercise – or impact, rather, last month. So we’ll be equipping our navy and our navy will be – those elements of the navy are based at Fleet Base East down at Garden Island in Sydney and then Fleet Base West over in HMAS Stirling in the west. 

And then we are integrating it into the Joint Strike Fighter as well. So, as I said, the strength of the Joint Strike Missile is that it’s carried in the weapons bay underneath the Joint Strike Fighter so it doesn’t hang off the wings and so that it doesn’t compromise the stealth characteristics. But these are very advanced cruise missiles that really will give the ADF even more teeth than they have right now and military forces around the world are transitioning. So the US Marine Corps is investing in Naval Strike Missiles launched from trucks as a way of sort of defending islands. 

We might – I might ask our Defence colleagues and the company colleagues to exit so that I can give a fulsome answer to the question. 

I’m aware of, quite frankly, completely inaccurate and ill-founded and unprincipled claims from a Greens politician – a Greens politician who’s never engaged with me to get the answers. So I’ll make a few points: one, they are claiming that we’re making explosive ordnance here. That is completely untrue. As I said in my statement, the warhead and the rocket booster will be installed at Orchid Hills – Orchard Hills, rather, in Western Sydney. So we are not producing explosive ordnance at these sites. 

Secondly, Councillor McCabe completely misunderstands the policies of her own council. Newcastle council isn’t investing in a facility here; they have ownership of an airport that we’re leasing land from. So she doesn’t even understand her own ESG policies. 

Thirdly, this is part of a broader attack on the Australian Defence Force from the Greens. So there’s two arguments there. If they’re saying that these missiles are being integrated into our naval vessels right now, so if they’re good enough to be on our naval ships, why isn’t it good enough for us to make them in this country, to get good paying high-skilled jobs out of it and actually earn export revenue as well? So clearly the Greens are either against a Future Made in Australia by having those jobs here in this country or they’re effectively arguing that the Royal Australian Navy shouldn’t have weapons, that we should unilaterally disarm and not have a navy or an air force. And that is completely out of step with the community sentiment in this country where we want a strong defence force to deter aggression as a defensive measure. To deter aggression and to avoid war. 

So I think they are really important factual statements, and I wish this councillor instead of grandstanding would have contacted my office. I would have patiently explained to her how what we’re doing is consistent, even though there is no obligation with Newcastle Council ESG policy. 

On a broader point, the Greens have declared war on the Australian defence industry. They’ve declared war on the 100,000 Australians who work supporting the Australian Defence Force in our defence industry. You’ve seen their lies about Australian companies supplying weapons to Israel for the Gaza conflict. They continue to besmirch the names of, for example, workers in Varley, up the road from here, who do not produce missile componentry that go into Israeli weapons that are being used in Gaza. They produce componentry for Australian weapons that are used on Australian vehicles into the future. 

So the Greens, whether it’s Councillor McCabe or Senator Shoebridge, continue to lie. They continue to mislead the Australian people. They continue to insult the contribution of the 100,000 workers, and that has a real social impact. I’ve had reports that apprentices and others in these impacted companies have been trying to quit their jobs because they’ve been reading these false claims. That’s incredibly unfortunate and undermines morale and it actually weakens Australia. And I call on the Greens to be part of a responsible debate where we can all have a debate about defence policy, but don’t insult workers, don’t attack workers and actually come from a position of fact and evidence and engagement rather than political grandstanding just to win a few votes, whether it’s in an upcoming federal election or council election, which I have no idea has any involvement in national defence policy. 

So sorry for rabbiting on, but I’m pretty bloody passionate about this. 

JOURNALIST: Just to clarify, so the Commonwealth will be leasing land from the airport to house this facility? 

MINISTER CONROY: The Commonwealth will be leasing land from the airport to house this facility that manufactures the parts of the missile that aren’t explosive ordnance or munitions. Neither munitions or explosive ordnance will be manufactured at this facility. And, quite frankly, even if they were – which they’re not – it’s Newcastle Airport that Newcastle council is investing in, not the actual facility. Any other questions? 

JOURNALIST: I just wanted to clarify your connection with Astra Aerolab here. 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, it will be built on Astra Aerolab land. Any other questions? 

JOURNALIST: Could I just go back to one about Ukraine. You mentioned the age of the missile. Has the war in Ukraine demonstrated that global stockpiles of missiles are lacking, and is this part of the rationale for moving ahead with this factory? 

MINISTER CONROY: Absolutely. Whether it’s the war in Ukraine, the interruptions to the global sea lanes around the Red Sea or, quite frankly, people’s difficulty in getting toilet paper during the Covid pandemic, we can no longer rely on local supply lines like we used to. So this announcement is about a Future Made in Australia. This announcement is about increasing sovereignty and self-reliance by being able to manufacture this missile or these missiles in our country. And, as I said, not only is Aussie industry cost competitive, we’ll get these results faster than if we were part of the global supply – the global ordering queue. So it’s great news for Aussie industry. It’s great news for the ADF because they get the missiles sooner and we’ve got more independence. So it’s really a no-brainer that we’re doing this.

JOURNALIST: Just to drill into that – just one more – if the engines still have to come from overseas, then how is that sovereign capability? 

MINISTER CONROY: Well, it’s part of the – there are componentry that will come from overseas. I’m not pretending that we will be 100 per cent self-reliant. But the ability to do assembly here initially and then fill out the supply chain with Australian componentry by definition increases our sovereignty, increases our independence because the amount that we’re relying on overseas suppliers is reduced. So it’s all about – sorry, it’s all about being along a spectrum rather than at this end. 

Great, thank you so much everyone for doing this.

ENDS