A NSW government strategy looks to push the defence forces to use Port Kembla steel in its ships and tanks.
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It also focuses on the idea of relocating at least parts of the navy to Port Kembla.
These initiatives are among those listed in the government’s defence and industry strategy – Strong, Smart and Connected – which highlights areas in regional NSW that could benefit from forecasted big spending.
The Australian Government’s Defence White Paper outlining spending more than $195 billion over the coming decade.
“It’s vital that NSW positions itself to take advantage of the significant opportunities for growth,” said Industry Minister Niall Blair.
“Every $1 billion in Commonwealth defence spending we can attract to NSW will boost our gross state product by $1.4 billion and support up to 10,000 jobs across the economy.”
One initiative is to “promote the inclusion of Port Kembla steel into the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) ship and vehicle procurement”.
Another touches on the push for the Garden Island naval fleet to relocate to Port Kembla by looking to “explore opportunities to help reduce congestion in Fleet Base East”.
The strategy also highlights the work various organisations in the Illawarra are already doing for the ADF.
“Companies such as Bisalloy, BlueScope and Prokote provide world-leading armoured steel plate for a range of Royal Australian Navy ships and submarines, as well as Australian Army protected mobility vehicles,” the strategy states.
“Other Wollongong companies provide important high-end electrical equipment, complex communications systems, engineered plastics, remote education systems, ruggedised computers and data storage solutions, and medically approved computing devices to Defence.”
The University of Wollongong’s SMART Infrastructure Facility and the marine arm of the Defence Materials Technology Centre are also working with the ADF.
“Wollongong is a city transformed,” the strategy states.
“It has a well-developed and sophisticated innovation ecosystem that ensures it is at the cutting edge of applied research and industry collaboration.
“This focus on innovation ensures the ADF maintains its technological edge.”
Federal Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said they would work with the state on this strategy.
“New South Wales already has strong Defence ties within ADF operational bases, Special Forces capabilities and training facilities employing more than 26,000 personnel with annual appropriations of around $5.4 billion,” Mr Pyne said.