Minister for Defence Stephen Smith, Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare and the South Australian Minister for Defence Industry Jack Snelling today announced that the Defence and Industry Conference will be held in Adelaide in 2014.
The Conference will bring together members of Defence industry from across the country and the globe.
The Defence and Industry Conference has seen a steady growth in participation since the first such Conference was held in the 1990s.
The last Conference in 2011, the seventeenth Conference, was also held in Adelaide and attracted 630 companies and over 1700 attendees. Seventy-five per cent of delegates were from industry.
Attendance is expected to increase to 2000 in 2014.
The Conference is an opportunity for Industry to discuss with Defence officials acquisition and sustainment investment opportunities. It is also an opportunity for Industry to present its ideas and concepts to the Defence community.
The 2014 Defence and Industry Conference is expected to contribute around $3.5 million to the South Australian economy.
“The Conference is an important opportunity for Industry to discuss the latest developments in Defence policy and programs,” Mr Clare said.
“Defence is a crucial industry for South Australia and securing the Defence and Industry Conference cements the strong record we have of delivering Defence projects,” Mr Snelling said.
“Securing major Defence projects remains vital to the growth and sustainability of our defence workforce. That’s why it’s so important that Future Submarines will be assembled here in South Australia.”
“We currently have the Air Warfare Destroyer program and the AP-3C Orion aircraft maintenance and upgrade project under way in Adelaide. As well, planning continues for the Future Submarine Project,” Mr Smith said.
“The Australian Government understands the importance of Defence Industry to South Australia. That’s why the Government has announced today that the Future Submarine project Land Based Test Site will be based in Adelaide.”
More than 3700 South Australians are directly employed in Defence Industry jobs.