Comments on: Defence industry capability – creating a new boom in Australia https://www.openforum.com.au/defence-industry-capability-creating-new-boom-australia Open Forum offers an independent platform for Australian debate Tue, 19 Dec 2023 21:24:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 By: Max Thomas https://www.openforum.com.au/defence-industry-capability-creating-new-boom-australia/#comment-4123 Wed, 23 Nov 2016 05:10:00 +0000 http://staging.openforum.com.au/blog/defence-industry-capability-creating-a-new-boom-in-australia/#comment-4123 If words were weapons…

An old uncle who served on the Kokoda Track used to tell us that Australia's defence consisted of a .303 rifle and a tin boat. "Gawd 'elp us if we get attacked on a weekend and someone's borrowed the tinny to go shootin'." In no-time we've gone from former Defence Minister David Johnston saying he wouldn't trust the government's own shipbuilding firm to "build a canoe" to the present Minister for Defence Industries saying: "We have some fantastic success stories in technology, in innovation, in defence industries, but we have not been great exporters of those amazing things that we've been able to produce." I'm with you Alan, we have to take a more independent stand and that must include doing a lot better at engaging in meaningful relations with our neighbours.

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By: Alan Stevenson https://www.openforum.com.au/defence-industry-capability-creating-new-boom-australia/#comment-4071 Mon, 26 Sep 2016 07:03:00 +0000 http://staging.openforum.com.au/blog/defence-industry-capability-creating-a-new-boom-in-australia/#comment-4071 Defense Industry Capability

We, as a nation, have the proven ability to improve, invent and sustain cutting edge technologies. However, we are not capable of building complex structures which will withstand time. I served in the Royal Australian Navy for some time and know that the ships built in South Australia were substandard. The watertight doors allowed cockroaches to migrate without effort; the welding was such that large gaps appeared in the superstructure in heavy seas, etc. The Collins Class submarines spend more time in dock than at sea. The new submarines we are buying from France are having to be retrograded from atomic power to diesel which they were not designed for (vibration, etc). As a nation we are not strong – the Indonesian navy has a greater total tonnage that ours – and yet we are spending 90 billion dollars on upgrading our capabilty. Surely this money could be better spent elsewhere while we make friends with our neighbours through diplomatic efforts. The American presidency is not looking strong for the forseeable future – a liar or an idiot! We must learn to stand on our own feet in this neighbourhood. The hand of friendship is about all we have to offer – let's do it with as much sincerity as we can muster.

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