The annual Hunter Defence conference has heard that the Hunter Region will have an increasingly important role to play in the defence of the nation amid a deteriorating security outlook, typified by yesterday's news of the Solomon Islands refusing to allow US and British warships to dock in its waters.
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Hunter Defence chairman Tim Owen opened the three-day conference at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley today with a blunt appraisal of the situation facing Australia, given its geographic importance and the widely held concerns over China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"We have a land war in Europe that could extend to become some form of major conflict and we have an Indo-Pacific and a Pacific region that has not been as tense as this since the Second World War," Mr Owen, a RAAF Air Commodore before his term as the Liberal state member for Newcastle from 2011 to 2014, said.
"This is all very significant and rings some clear bells in my view for Australia. We are in pretty different times to what we enjoyed (even with COVID) only a year ago."
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Now in its 13th year, the conference has attracted about 250 delegates, the bulk of them from companies operating in the defence and aerospace industries in the Hunter Region.
Today's agenda focused on the relationships between Hunter businesses and the big "prime" and "sub-prime" contractors and the various arms of the Australian Defence Force.
Tomorrow's program includes a series of briefings from high-ranking current and former defence chiefs, including a presentation on the AUKUS nuclear submarines project from Vice Admiral (retired) Tim Barrett of the Royal Australian Navy.
Newcastle was named before the election, along with Port Kembla and Sydney Harbour, on a shortlist for a new east coast home port for the nuclear subs.
Shortland MP Pat Conroy - now Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific in the Albanese government - is scheduled to speak at tomorrow night's conference dinner, as is Perrottet government front-bencher Alister Henskens, who holds four ministerial portfolios including Enterprise, Investment and Trade, and Science, Innovation and Technology.
Mr Conroy is expected to emphasise the role that the Hunter defence industry - along with defence in other parts of the country - will have a vital role to play as Australia faces "the most complex strategic circumstances since WWII".
Mr Conroy is expected to say the Commonwealth is set to spend $270 billion across the coming decade on "critical defence capabilities" that will strengthen the Australian Defence Force and also provide "significant opportunities for defence industry".
He is expected to say the Hunter has the skills and capabilities to make the most of the economic and job opportunities that will flow from this spending.
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Mr Owen told the opening session that the growing defence budget would "drive industrial capability" to Williamtown, including a 40-year land release of almost 400 hectares being developed with the NSW government as the Williamtown Special Activation Precinct.
He said the challenge was to attract enough people -not only young adults but people changing careers - to fill the jobs created by the Hunter winning defence contracts.
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Ian Kirkwood
Reporting journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1987. Editorial writer, general reporter, industrial relations, industry and coal.
Reporting journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1987. Editorial writer, general reporter, industrial relations, industry and coal.
