Battle Stations: How Australia’s Defence Boom Became a Revolving Door Bonanza

 

With AUKUS driving billions in defence spending, the surge of former politicians, military chiefs and senior officials into the arms of defence contractors and lobby firms is accelerating at a pace rarely seen before.

Last year, US defence technology firm Anduril, which is co‑founded by Palmer Luckey, a flamboyant Trump supporter with a flair for disrupting military procurement, scored a coup in the cut‑throat defence sector. The company recruited retired Rear Admiral Peter Quinn, formerly the Navy’s head of capability, as vice president of strategy for Australia and the Asia‑Pacific.

For Anduril, it was a timely hire. Quinn’s former role was to shape the Navy’s future capability needs. In May 2022, while still in uniform, he was one of the signatories on a $77 million Defence contract awarded to Anduril to build the Ghost Shark, an autonomous undersea vehicle designed for stealth warfare. By the time Quinn left the Navy at the end of 2022, three prototypes were already in motion. After a one‑year “cooling‑off” period (the bare minimum required) he joined Anduril in January 2024.

That move has raised eyebrows. The project never went to open tender, prompting complaints from rivals. “That didn’t pass the pub test,” one industry insider said of the deal, which has since ballooned to $160 million in combined taxpayer and company investment.

Anduril insists Quinn’s hiring complied with all rules and that he has had no involvement in the Ghost Shark program since joining. The Defence Department echoes that line, arguing that “movement of staff between Defence and industry” is essential to building capability. But Greens defence spokesperson David Shoebridge says the rules are far too weak: “There should be a rock‑solid prohibition on the decision‑makers for multibillion‑dollar tenders ever going to work for the companies that win the contracts.”

Quinn is far from alone. A decades‑old pattern has turned into a flood as Australia’s defence budget climbs above $59 billion a year and AUKUS looms large. From the Cabinet table to the admirals’ mess, former ministers, shadow ministers and senior officers are now embedded across the private sector.

The list is formidable: former defence ministers Christopher Pyne, Kim Beazley, Stephen Conroy, David Johnston, Arthur Sinodinos and Joel Fitzgibbon; former opposition leader Brendan Nelson; and even former prime minister Scott Morrison.

Dozens of ex‑staffers have joined advisory and lobbying firms with defence clients. They include Paul Chamberlin (staffer to three Nationals leaders), Carl Ungerer (national security adviser to Simon Crean), Michael Choueifate (former chief of staff to Anthony Albanese), Adam Howard (chief of staff to Pyne), and Tony Hodges (staffer to Richard Marles and Julia Gillard).

Three firms dominate the lobbying landscape: TG Public Affairs, Pyne & Partners, and CMAX Advisory. TG boasts an advisory board featuring Conroy, Beazley, Johnston and former Defence deputy secretary Steve Grzeskowiak, representing 15 of the top 40 defence contractors including Lockheed Martin, Saab, Northrop Grumman and Rheinmetall.

Pyne’s firm, Pyne & Partners, has about 18 defence clients and recently staged its fourth AUKUS Program in Washington DC, with keynote addresses by ambassador Kevin Rudd and former British defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon. Its roster includes Rolls‑Royce, due to receive $4.6 billion to build nuclear propulsion systems for the SSN‑AUKUS submarines.

CMAX, founded by former Fitzgibbon staffer Christian Taubenschlag, has the former defence minister himself on the books as special counsel. Fitzgibbon insists he provides strategic advice, not active lobbying: “Not every entity can navigate government alone,” he says.

While no one is accused of wrongdoing, critics say the rules around post‑service employment are inadequate. Anthony Whealy, chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, wants a three‑year cooling‑off period before politicians, senior officials or ADF officers take up work in sectors they once regulated.

Meanwhile, the senior ranks of defence contractors are increasingly peppered with ex‑ADF brass. Former Defence Force chief Mark Binskin is now at BAE Systems Australia, along with ex‑navy chief Tim Barrett. Retired rear admirals Lee Goddard, Mark Purcell and Chris Ritchie have been snapped up by companies including Australian Missile Corporation, Bondi Partners and Luerssen. Lockheed Martin’s local CEO, Warren McDonald, was the RAAF’s chief of joint capabilities just a year before taking the corporate helm.

The attraction is obvious. As one consultant put it: “The value is mapping a very complicated procurement process inside Defence. If you’re on the outside, your understanding of the stakeholders is very low – and you can’t get that without hiring someone who’s been in the system. It’s a total lasagne of people whose names aren’t on Google.”

AUKUS: Where the Billions Are Flowing

Despite ministerial fanfare, the AUKUS bonanza for Australian industry remains elusive. Defence insiders acknowledge that for the next several years, most spending will flow offshore to bolster British and US shipyards and to upgrade Australia’s naval bases.

Canberra has pledged $4.6 billion to Rolls‑Royce in Britain and $4.7 billion to US shipyards producing Virginia‑class submarines, three of which are earmarked for Australia. Another $8 billion is budgeted to expand HMAS Stirling in WA, which will host rotating US subs from 2027, and $127 million to design upgrades at Henderson’s defence precinct.

In total, $30 billion is promised for domestic industrial capacity over 30 years – but as defence analyst Marcus Hellyer points out, “most high‑value components will be imported. All this talk about high‑tech manufacturing being our moonshot is misplaced.”

Smaller Australian defence firms are struggling to see a pathway. The Australian Industry and Defence Network says AUKUS is “early days” for its members, with just 200 companies in a prequalification program. $262 million has been set aside to help them eventually join the submarine supply chain.

For now, the action is in infrastructure, not manufacturing. “If you want to be in the AUKUS game now, you’ve got to be in the infrastructure game,” one industry source says.

Ghost Shark: A Test Case

Anduril’s Ghost Shark is being hailed by Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy as an exemplar of “speed to capability”. Launched through the little‑known Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator, the autonomous undersea vehicle is touted as a stealthy platform for long‑range intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions.

The company established its Australian arm in March 2022, citing AUKUS as the catalyst. Three years on, it has delivered three prototypes and is testing a fourth in the US. Defence won’t confirm specifications, but says the craft is the size of a bus at minimum and has completed 100‑hour missions.

Some in industry remain sceptical, but for now, Ghost Shark is a model of how AUKUS Pillar 2 – covering advanced technologies like AI and robotics – might operate in practice.

Criticism of Donald Trump’s second presidency has focused heavily on his unapologetic declarations that he intends to enrich himself while in office: a brazen intertwining of public power and private profit. But are Australians really so different? The revolving door around AUKUS has created its own shadow network of influence, with former prime minister Scott Morrison now holding a series of strategic advisory positions that put him close to companies angling for lucrative submarine and capability contracts. Morrison’s private sector engagements, while not in breach of existing rules, sit uncomfortably alongside his former role in locking Australia into the $368 billion pact – raising the same uncomfortable question posed in Washington: who ultimately benefits most from this historic defence build‑up?

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What’s clear is that the AUKUS era is remaking the landscape of Australian defence and with it, the revolving door between government and industry. Billions are flowing, but so far much of that tide is heading offshore. Meanwhile, the lobbying and consulting class at home is positioning itself for a generation‑long boom.

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Sidebar: Key Players and Their New Roles in Australia’s Defence Boom

Name	Former Role	Current Role	Defence Industry Link
Christopher Pyne	Defence Minister (Liberal)	Founder, Pyne & Partners	Represents ~18 defence clients including Rolls‑Royce (nuclear propulsion for SSN‑AUKUS)
Kim Beazley	Defence Minister, US Ambassador (Labor)	Advisory board, TG Public Affairs	Advises lobbying firm representing major defence primes
Stephen Conroy	Communications Minister, Shadow Defence (Labor)	Chair, TG Public Affairs Advisory Board	Links to Lockheed Martin, Saab, Northrop Grumman
Arthur Sinodinos	Industry Minister, US Ambassador (Liberal)	Former Co‑Chair, AUKUS Forum Advisory Board	Engaged in AUKUS industry advocacy
Joel Fitzgibbon	Defence Minister (Labor)	Special Counsel, CMAX Advisory	Strategic advice for defence clients
David Johnston	Defence Minister (Liberal)	Advisory board, TG Public Affairs	Defence industry lobbying
Brendan Nelson	Opposition Leader, Director of AWM (Liberal)	Senior executive roles in defence sector	Industry positions linked to primes
Scott Morrison	Prime Minister (Liberal)	Advisory and consulting engagements	Strategic connections in AUKUS ecosystem
Rear Admiral Peter Quinn (Ret.)	Head of Naval Capability (RAN)	VP Strategy, Anduril Australia & Asia‑Pacific	Previously signatory to Ghost Shark contract
Mark Binskin	Chief of Defence Force	Executive Director, Defence & National Security, BAE Systems Australia	Works for prime involved in SSN‑AUKUS
Tim Barrett	Chief of Navy	Non‑Executive Director, BAE Systems Australia	Advisory role in defence industry
Lee Goddard	Rear Admiral (RAN)	Strategic Adviser, Australian Missile Corporation (Nioa Group)	Firm with AUKUS ambitions
Mark Purcell	Rear Admiral (RAN)	Senior Adviser, Bondi Partners (Joe Hockey’s lobbying firm)	AUKUS‑related consultancy
Chris Ritchie	Chief of Navy	Former Director, Luerssen Australia	Linked to patrol boat construction
Warren McDonald	Chief of Joint Capabilities (RAAF)	CEO, Lockheed Martin Australia & NZ	Leads operations for major defence contractor