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Centre for Defence Industry Capability general manager Andrew Garth has highlighted the role of the CDIC as the defence sector’s one-stop shop or primary go-to hub.
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Garth said the concept of the CDIC being a so-called front door for the industry to come to in order to deliver a broad a range of services, had really struck a chord.
“I mean, businesses don't need to be an expert anymore on all of the different elements of defence to know where all of the opportunities are, and I think we're doing that bit in spades,” he said.
“I guess partially what we're grappling with, our board and with Defence, is how we actually bring scale now to the CDIC, so that we've got the resources to dive in where we need to,” Garth added. “The other thing I would say is that, and a big thank you to the Australian industry out there and in some ways, some of the formation of the CDIC in terms of that close partnership with industry during the policy development is paying off.”
Garth attributed this success to the CDIC being open and honest with its industry connections.
“[It’s] that when we’re answering the phone, we're connecting people together,” he said. “What I am conscious of, though, is that what we were really set up to do was actually dive into that detail and actually drive that competitiveness and drive those outcomes.
“And at the moment, while we're answering the phones and we're good friends with everyone, we're not actually getting enough time to actually embed in the businesses. [But] I think there's a degree of patience while we actually ramp up.
“I mean, at the end of the day, we're all in it together. The CDIC needs to ramp up in just the same way that our industry base does. And while we take that approach, I think we're given a little bit of latitude to grow as we need to.”
To hear more from Andrew Garth, tune in to our podcast here.
