Defence & Security Podcast Network

"We thought that we could definitely have a crack at fixing that unemployment rate and underemployment rate. When we looked at the figures initially it scared us and alarmed us, and drove us further." This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, we chat with Tom Moore, co-founder and CEO of WithYouWithMe which is tackling the issue of unemployment and underemployment of Australia's veterans. A recent...

Rheinmetall Defence Australia has made headlines recently as the industry awaits the announcement of the successful LAND 400 Phase 2 competitor. As one of the two contenders for the coveted contract to build 225 new combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs) for the Australian Army, the other is BAE Systems Australia, Rheinmetall has made a commitment to not only build significant industrial capability...

The potential Australia's space sector is significant, with industry hotly anticipating the release of the government's space industry capability review – and what that means for the sector's future. The space sector has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.52 per cent for nearing two decades, more than three times the annual growth rate of world GDP in the same period. And the upsid...

LAND 400 Phase 2 will deliver the Australian Army 225 highly-capable combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs) to replace the aging ASLAVs in a project worth $4-5 billion dollars. With the decision on the successful tenderer expected to be handed down by the government within a matter of weeks – or months depending on where you get your sources… – the defence industry awaits with anticipation on the n...

"Australian Industry Group Defence Council working with Defence is really about recognising defence industry as that fundamental input to capability and about recognising the national security flavour that goes over the top of everything that we do." This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, former First Assistant Secretary Defence Industry Policy Kate Louis joins us in her new role as head of def...

This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, former CEO of Naval Group Australia Sean Costello joins us in his new role as director of Fincantieri Australia, taking us through the Italian company's bid for the SEA 5000 project. Costello delves into the Italian shipbuilder's plans for developing a sovereign Australian naval shipbuilding industry, starting with mobilising a skilled workforce, creating...

"Right now in Australia, within the defence industry ... although we're competitors, we work together, and we can work together well. Those partnerships and those teaming arrangements to deliver the best capability to the customer is what we're all focused on. It's not about us doing it on our own. Whether it's with SMEs or whether it's some of our bigger partners ... we're here to deliver the bes...

Colin Thorne joined KPMG Australia's Management Consulting division in November 2015 to lead its Engineering and Asset Management Advisory business – a diverse entity that aims to support Australia's defence sector. An electronics engineer with more than 30 years' experience in the defence sector, much of it specialising in the acquisition and sustainment of airborne surveillance systems, Colin sh...

"Industry has come from a background of they've had to pursue projects on a project by project basis, and the department has pretty much let contracts on a project by project basis without taking a broader view of developing an integrated and comprehensive industry base. There's some great people in defence industry of course, but the leadership and the culture of the defence industry will have to...

Newly minted senator for South Australia and former submariner Rex Patrick is already making waves within Parliament and Defence, and this week he joins the Defence Connect Podcast to talk us through his ambitions for the job and what we can expect to see from him in 2018. The former defence industry contractor takes us through his defence and political career so far, starting from his 11 years in...

This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, Rojone managing director Livia Brady takes us through the ins and outs of running a successful business in the defence industry sector. Formally established by Brady's mother in the 1981, Rojone has gone from selling cable assemblies to unique voice interactive GPS vehicle tracking systems, through to high performance commercial and military components. Br...

"Defence is making it clear to all the primes, local and international, that they do need to engage local industry and to engage them in meaningful work, not just superficial type work. And as a result, they're all knocking on the doors of SMEs and trying to establish partnerships in areas to work together." This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, president of AIDN NSW and Milspec Manufacturing...

"We can be listening under the sea. We can be observing with cameras the surface of the ocean. We can be listening with electronic sensors for other electronic signatures, and then we can be transmitting them back. One can do that, but a fleet of these things can do so much more. If you had a number of these, for example, off the north of Australia, for a fraction of the cost of a ship, you could...

This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, social media expert Nicole Matejic joins us to discuss the growing influence of social media in the defence sector. Matejic, a former strategic communications and ministerial services specialist for Defence, takes us through the changing world of Defence in the age of social media, the advent of ISIS, and social media in a conflict environment. An instruct...

"I know we're winning a lot of work. We haven't got the headline jobs, where they're building the submarines, the land forces contracts ... There's a lot of capability goes into those projects from New South Wales." Executive director of the Industry Capability Network NSW Peter Webster joins the Defence Connect Podcast to discuss the organisation's service as "an industrial dating service", its r...

UK-Australian defence collaboration has always been strong, supported by a shared history, alliance, commonality of objectives and a deep understanding of purpose. Opportunities to capitalise on increased Australian government defence spending is attracting international interest from companies seeking to enter our domestic supply chain. The UK government and UK businesses are particularly active...

UK-Australian defence collaboration has always been strong, supported by a shared history, alliance, commonality of objectives and a deep understanding of purpose. Opportunities to capitalise on increased Australian government defence spending is attracting international interest from companies seeking to enter our domestic supply chain. The UK government and UK businesses are particularly active...

UK-Australian defence collaboration has always been strong, supported by a shared history, alliance, commonality of objectives and a deep understanding of purpose. Opportunities to capitalise on increased Australian government defence spending is attracting international interest from companies seeking to enter our domestic supply chain. The UK government and UK businesses are particularly active...

This week on the Defence Connect Podcast, founder of Mendoza Legal and Consulting and legal officer for the Royal Australian Air Force Reserves Daniel Mendoza-Jones takes us through the world of legal services within defence industry. Mendoza-Jones discusses his years of experience with the Department of Defence, Defence's Smart Buyer Program, how he started his own firm and specialised in governm...

"The concept of the CDIC being one front door for defence industry to come to, to provide that range of services, is really striking a cord." Andrew Garth, general manager of the Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC), joins the Defence Connect Podcast to discuss the progress the organisation has made since its launch nearly a year ago. A key initiative of the Defence Industry Policy Statem...

"What we all recognise is that it takes everyone in the business to sell. Engineers have got to do great stuff. The administrators have got to administer well. The marketing people have got to do a good job building relationships and getting the word out there." In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Lee Stanley, head of marketing and business development for Daronmont Technologies, is in...

A national approach to defence industry is crucial in securing the best outcomes for the Australian Defence Force. Defence Teaming Centre (DTC) chief executive Margot Forster joined the Defence Connect Podcast to discuss the organisation's point of difference as a representative for the diverse and evolving defence industry and its transition from a South Australian organisation to one with a nati...

Siemens has been supporting defence, marine and shipbuilding activities for over 130 years, including electrical products, systems solutions and services to sustain submarines and naval vessels for their entire lifecycle. In the US alone, 700 billion dollars' worth of defence programs are designed on Siemens software tools. In Australia, the business' equipment and support structure can be linked...

Australian opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles returned to the Defence Connect Podcast at the Pacific International Maritime Exposition to talk up the importance of building an export-based Australian defence industry and how to properly leverage the once-in-a-generation opportunity. Tune in as the Victorian MP takes us through the commitment both major political parties have to reaching a...

Western Australia's strong contribution to Australia's defence capabilities is set to advance even more in the coming years with the plethora of incoming projects under the 2016 Defence White Paper. WA's Defence Issues Minister Paul Papalia joined Defence Connect to discuss the once-in-a-generation opportunity the state has to cement itself as a defence industry leader, nationally and internationa...