Statements
Defence industries—United States trade mission
Brief ministerial statement
Mr Paul Papalia (Secret Harbour—Minister for Defence Industries) (1:06 pm): I stand today to inform the house of my recent mission to the United States to forward the interests of the Western Australian defence industry. The aim of the mission was to meet with key American submarine industry and other defence players and enlist their support in advocating with the Trump administration on behalf of WA industry, the principal objective being to help fast-track selected WA industries into the Virginia Class submarine construction supply chain.
During every engagement, I also highlighted the benefit to the United States offered by HMAS Stirling hosting forward operations of US Virginia Class submarines from 2027, the WA defence industry's capacity to accelerate production of Virginia Class submarines through the local production of critical submarine components, and the potential for WA's abundant critical minerals and rare-earth reserves to contribute to a reliable supply chain for US and allied defence and technology needs. Given concerns expressed publicly by some administration nominees over the ability of the US submarine construction industry to meet domestic demand for Virginia class construction, I sought to emphasise the role that WA industry might play in increasing submarine construction capacity.
Our delegation met with a range of key figures in the US, including Australia's Ambassador to the United States of America, Hon Kevin Rudd; ranking member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Jack Reed; co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, Congressman Joe Courtney; Senior Counsellor to the President and EW Richardson Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, James Carafano; Palantir head of defence and previous co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, Mike Gallagher; CEO of Hanwha Defence, Michael Coulter; director of advanced development from Huntington Ingalls Industries, Dave Soldow; Austal USA president, Michelle Kruger; and vice-president and general manager of maritime and strategic systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems, Laura Bukkosy Hooks.
I also addressed members of the Australian Submarine Agency's industrial base engagement forum at the Australian Embassy prior to the Sea-Air-Space maritime exposition. Several Western Australian organisations and companies attended this global event, including Curtin University, Greenroom Robotics, Hofmann Engineering, Matrix Composites and Engineering, and VEEM. At the Sea-Air-Space maritime exposition, our delegation also engaged with leading US defence primes—Raytheon, Honeywell, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Lockheed Martin and Science Applications International Corporation—to strengthen strategic partnerships and advance opportunities for Western Australia's defence industry. A key outcome of the mission was confirmation of HII supply chain certification for both Hofmann Engineering and VEEM. While in the United States, I also took the opportunity to promote our state's flagship Indian Ocean defence and security exhibition, extending invitations to US defence leaders to participate in next year's expanded event.
Boosting Western Australia's defence sector is a central element of our Made in WA plan. It will further diversify the state's economy and create generations of jobs for Western Australians. I table the itinerary of the US mission for the information of the house.
