❓ Dr. Walker questions the Minister for Defence Industry's lack of engagement with local hemp producers regarding military uniforms, suggesting a missed opportunity for WA's defence industry growth. The Minister deflects responsibility to the Commonwealth government's procurement process.
AnsweredQoN 357Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
HEMP — MILITARY UNIFORMS
357. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the
Minister for Defence Industry:
I refer the minister to the answer
he very kindly provided to my question asked on Wednesday, 22 March 2023. I confess
that his answer has left me somewhat confused as to what the minister
understands his role to be in this area, and so I ask the following.
(1) Am I correct
in my understanding that as Minister for Defence Industry, he has staff
reporting to him, not least the Defence Advocate, Rear Admiral Philip Spedding,
whose stated role is to support the expansion of WA's defence industry
to create more local jobs and promote the state's defence industry
capability?
(2) What, if
anything, in that job description, summarised in the minister's own
media release of 18 December 2022, precludes discussions with local hemp
producers to better understand how they might contribute to this sought after
growth?
(3) Will the minister reconsider his response to my
earlier question, given that he clearly has a role to play here, or will he continue to demonstrate that deflection
and avoidance are the forms of defence he best understands?
357. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the
Minister for Defence Industry:
I refer the minister to the answer
he very kindly provided to my question asked on Wednesday, 22 March 2023. I confess
that his answer has left me somewhat confused as to what the minister
understands his role to be in this area, and so I ask the following.
(1) Am I correct
in my understanding that as Minister for Defence Industry, he has staff
reporting to him, not least the Defence Advocate, Rear Admiral Philip Spedding,
whose stated role is to support the expansion of WA's defence industry
to create more local jobs and promote the state's defence industry
capability?
(2) What, if
anything, in that job description, summarised in the minister's own
media release of 18 December 2022, precludes discussions with local hemp
producers to better understand how they might contribute to this sought after
growth?
(3) Will the minister reconsider his response to my
earlier question, given that he clearly has a role to play here, or will he continue to demonstrate that deflection
and avoidance are the forms of defence he best understands?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Defence Industry.
(1)–(3) I
have received no advocacy from any company based in Western Australia to
manufacture hemp clothing for the Australian Defence Force. Western Australian–based
companies interested in providing products to the Australian Defence Force
should contact Defence West initially for further advice. To reiterate, the
procurement of products for the Australian Defence Force is the responsibility
of the commonwealth government, which manages the tender process.
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Defence Industry.
(1)–(3) I
have received no advocacy from any company based in Western Australia to
manufacture hemp clothing for the Australian Defence Force. Western Australian–based
companies interested in providing products to the Australian Defence Force
should contact Defence West initially for further advice. To reiterate, the
procurement of products for the Australian Defence Force is the responsibility
of the commonwealth government, which manages the tender process.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.