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The latest report in the Institute of Public Affairs’ The Defence of Australia series has called for the creation of an Australian Industry Mobilisation and Resilience Council as part of a push to cut red tape and help Australian SMEs secure more defence contracts to put an end to the “business as usual” (BAU) approach to Defence procurement.
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The third paper in the Institute of Public Affairs’ The Defence of Australia series – titled Right Here Right Now: Unleashing Australian know-how to grow military power fast – authored by Strategic Analysis Australia’s Michael Shoebridge, Peter Jennings and Marcus Hellyer, comes at a pivotal point in the national debate about the future of our national security and defence industrial base.
John Storey, director of law and policy at the Institute of Public Affairs, said, “Even if global supply lines remain open in a time of war, resupply from our American or European allies of complex planes, ships, drones, and munitions is likely to be very slow or even impractical because of the understandable priority of meeting their own needs first.”
At the core of the report is the recognition that the current Defence procurement culture is too expensive, too complex, and could never be relied upon during wartime, and makes a number of recommendations, including:
- In the next term of government, at least one type of armed combat drone must be designed and produced in Australia and put into service.
- To immediately begin stockpiling ammunition and other war-related consumables.
- The federal government launch Operation: Cut Red Tape to remove barriers and allow Australia’s dynamic small and medium enterprise (SME) sector to be awarded Defence contracts.
- The creation of an Australian Industry Mobilisation and Resilience Council to plan for how Australia’s non-defence sectors can be mobilised in case of war.
- That government require the Department of Defence to contract directly with Australian SMEs instead of exclusively dealing with large defence prime contractors.
- The dramatic simplification of contracting documentation used for Defence procurement.
- Kick-starting domestic drone manufacturing capability by supplying Australian-made weapons to Ukraine as aid.
“The federal government must end Defence’s exclusive, cosy relationship with global prime defence contractors, and direct it to tap into Australia’s vibrant and innovative industrial sector. This will be pivotal in reversing our appalling lack of military readiness,” Storey said.
The need to mobilise Australia’s industrial base, as a whole, and the defence industrial base, in particular, comes following the rapid consumption of critical munitions and war stocks in both Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the role innovation, particularly in the autonomous systems space, has played in levelling the battlefield for Ukrainian forces and the asymmetric advantage they have provided to both the Israeli military and Hamas and Hezbollah.
Storey added, “The current wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are proving a modern war requires industrial staying power. This requires a complete change in mindset, we must tap into Australia’s highly innovative SMEs and world-leading non-defence sectors.”
A full detailed analysis of the report will be available on Defence Connect shortly. To download Right Here Right Now: Unleashing Australian know-how to grow military power fast, click here.
