New DCNS Australia interim CEO Brent Clarke says using Australian companies for Future Submarine build is a ‘no brainer’
USING Australian companies first for work on the Future Submarines is a “no brainer” under the “unique” way they will be built, the new boss of DCNS says.
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USING Australian companies first for work on the Future Submarines is a “no brainer” under the “unique” way they will be built, the new boss of DCNS says.
Brent Clarke, the interim CEO of DCNS Australia, has dismissed calls for a specific proportion of the $50 billion project to be set in stone, saying that they are working in a completely new way.
Mr Clarke replaced Sean Costello at the helm of the Australian arm of the French shipbuilders.
The Advertiser spoke to him yesterday, which was the anniversary of the announcement the French had beaten the Germans and the Japanese to work on the Adelaide-based program.
The Advertiser revealed yesterday that despite a local company spending millions getting ready for a submarine contract, it went overseas. Asked whether that would be possible on the Future Submarines, Mr Clarke said:
“No.”
He explained that their orders were to make sure technology was transferred to Australia, to create sovereign capability, and that every procurement decision had to be run past the Government.
“We have to look to see if there’s an industrial capability in Australia,” he said.
“If it exists in Australia, it’s a no-brainer.”
If it does not, he said, they would then discuss with the Commonwealth whether they could bring an Australian company up to scratch — the Commonwealth, for example, might decide to help a local company upgrade.
“I want to be very clear; it’s a decision DCNS and the Government make together,” he said.
The final Australian Industry Capability Plan will lay out these plans, he said.
“I have never seen a government have such a requirement to establish a sovereign capability; to me, that is unique,” he said.
“It’s very clear to me, it’s very clear to the company DCNS, and the French Government understands this.
“Percentages overall are meaningless because the intent of the government through this program is to create a sovereign capability where Australian industry is able to do as much work as it can actually take on.”
The State Government and the Nick Xenophon Team are pushing for specific Australian industry targets; 70 per cent Australian was a commonly used figure, but then Mr Costello signalled that 90 per cent of the work could be done in Australia. The current plans do not work that way.
State Defence Industries Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith said the 90 per cent was repeated by Federal Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.
“If this process delivers 90 per cent then the promise will be fulfilled, and if it doesn’t, the promise will be broken,” he said.
Mr Clarke has outlined the scope and importance of the Future Submarines in today’s Advertiser.
“South Australians understand the concept of a showdown,” he has written.
“The consequences of one in warfare are far more serious.”