The NSW Government has launched an enthusiastic campaign to significantly grow the State’s defence industry to generate jobs and economic growth across the State.

Premier Nathan Rees said that the Government’s vision is for NSW to:

• Create at least 1,500 new jobs in defence-related industries within four years.
• Secure 30 per cent of Australia’s in-country defence spend within a decade, delivering close to $3.9 billion per annum.

"I want NSW to be a ‘top gun’ when it comes to securing defence spending,” Mr Rees said.

“While we have the expertise and a good track record the time has come to aim higher."

The Federal Government has forecast the creation of 5,000 new industry jobs over the next four years and the NSW Government is aiming to secure at least 1,500 of these positions.

“We have the largest supply of defence related skilled workers with more than 51,000 workers qualified in engineering and related fields,” Mr Rees said.

Mr Rees said that the Government would specifically target acquisition projects contained in the Defence Capability Plan.

On August 5, the Premier and the new NSW Defence Advisor John Blackburn met with defence CEOs to discuss the potential growth of the NSW defence industry. The NSW Government will establish a number of defence-related industry hubs to improve activity on specific projects and promote regional development with the first hub located in the Hunter to focus on new air combat capability, particularly the Joint Strike Fighter.

“The Hunter already has a large and experienced defence support industry and a proven track record in project delivery with over 4,000 people employed locally in the defence industry,” Mr Rees said.

NSW is Australia’s largest and most diverse economy and is the national leader in manufacturing, logistics, ICT business services and other areas relevant to Australian defence needs.