QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr MARLES (Corio—Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence) (14:52): I thank the member for his question and acknowledge his service in wearing our nation's uniform. This morning I did sign an agreement with Canada's Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr, to enable Canada's acquisition of Australia's over-the-horizon radar. This is the biggest defence export in our country's history.
It's a $2.5 billion deal and it surpasses the most recent largest defence export, which was the 2024 sale of Boxers to Germany—that was a $1 billion deal. It is no coincidence that the two largest defence exports in our country's history have happened under the Albanese government, because we have given a real focus to defence exports. In this regard I acknowledge the Minister for Defence Industry.
In working with our friends and partners on shared defence platforms, that is not only good for our national security—it supports Australian industry and it supports Australian jobs. The Canadian deal is supporting 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, principally in South Australia and Victoria. The Boxer deal supported 600 direct jobs in Brisbane.
The over-the-horizon radar began its life back in 1986 under the Hawke government in a partnership with BAE Systems Australia, and since then it has been the cornerstone of our long-range northern surveillance. It is far and away the best long-range radar in the world. Like Australia, Canada has vast areas to surveil, and they will use this technology to look north over the Arctic.
What it really means is that Canada and Australia will now be partners in the future development of this technology. While Canada will definitely benefit from the decades of investment that we have made in the radar, Australia will also benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars that Canada will spend on R&D in furthering this technology. Canada and Australia have always been the very best of friends, but as of today we have a significant strategic dimension to the relationship.
It builds on the visit from Prime Minister Carney here in March, which significantly elevated our defence and security partnership. This is a really big day in the Australia-Canada relationship, but it is a historic day for Australia's defence industry because this is quite literally the Albanese government delivering a future made in Australia.