From a procurement and Australian capability perspective, which is where I sit, the program will not simply deliver nine of the world’s most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates to the Royal Australian Navy – it will uplift suppliers around the country, enabling them to invest in their facilities, hire more people, and inject more money into the national economy.
Hunter will embed a superior advanced manufacturing capability within Australia that enables local businesses to compete on the world stage while establishing a true sovereign shipbuilding capability.
Being able to develop and retain our own highly educated and skilled workforce while partnering with local industry is key to developing a capability to build and sustain our own warships which is vital to keeping Australia secure.
Australian companies, no matter how big or small they are, have the opportunity to enter Hunter’s supply chain, and so far, more than 1,750 businesses have registered through the online Industry Capability Network to compete for Hunter program contracts.
Over the life of the Hunter program, we will deliver a minimum of 58 per cent Australian contract expenditure and our tracking indicates we will exceed this percentage.
We have already placed contracts with more than 50 Australian businesses to support our prototyping phase, including Indigenous-owned and operated businesses like TQCSI Yaran and Career Centre Alliance.
As we progress towards building the first ship, we will contract more Australian businesses to manufacture, supply and assemble equipment and provide services for the first batch of three Hunter class frigates.
Earlier this year we awarded Score Australasia a contract to supply thousands of valves for the first three warships, and Score will subcontract 12 companies from five States to part manufacture, assemble and supply valves, representing a significant amount of value that will flow through the Australian supply chain.
To maximise the opportunities for Australian companies to be part of the Hunter program, we have funded local companies to perform scopes of work we call ‘targeted tasks’, providing opportunities for companies to demonstrate they have the capability to join Hunter’s supply chain.
A recent example of an Australian company rising to the challenge of a targeted task is VEEM – a commercial propeller manufacturer based in Western Australia that we selected to manufacture a pilot propeller blade to demonstrate capability to make propellers and brake blades for the anti-submarine warships.
Our supply chain and Australian Industry Capability teams are pleased with the progress we are making but know there is a lot of work ahead.
The first batch of three ships will be contracted separately to the second and third batch, which means even if an Australian company misses out on being involved in Batch 1, they can still be involved in Batch 2 and 3.
We will continue uplifting and collaborating with Australian suppliers, not just because we have to hit a number, but because it makes good economic sense: more jobs, more growth, and more opportunities for Australians while keeping our nation secure.