Australian defence ‘must seek export opportunities,’ Senator George Brandis says

Senior federal government minister George Brandis has said Australia’s defence industry should be seeking export opportunities.

“Australia has a very, very strong technical capability in defence industry and there are export opportunities to be sought," Senator Brandis said this morning.

Defence industry minister Christopher Pyne echoed the views of Senator Brandis, and told Fairfax media he wants the nation to become a major arms exporter on a par with Britain, France and Germany.

Labor's defence spokesman Richard Marles said that if the country wants to have a defence industry, “it's got to have an export component.”

"You can't have a defence industry solely based on your home defence force, particularly with a country the size of Australia," Mr Marles told ABC TV

Mr Marles said the exportation endeavour needs to be done carefully within an appropriate legal regime to ensure defence material is not used in the wrong way.