Australia's new Defence Industries Minister Pat Conroy plans to build on the foundations that his predecessor Greg Combet laid to make the Hunter one of the world's top aerospace hubs.
Mr Combet, who was also the member for the former Hunter seat of Charlton, was Minister for Defence Materiel and Science in the Rudd government. He is credited for doing much of the work that attracted companies including Lockhead Martin, BAE and Boeing to the Hunter as part of the Joint Strike Fighter project.
"When I worked for him, he was critical in us not only doing sustainment of our Strike Fighters at Williamtown but it being a regional hub for sustainment," Mr Conroy, who was also sworn in as Minister for International Development and the Pacific on Wednesday, said.
"To the credit of the previous government they continued that work and it has put us in a great position. I'm looking forward to picking up and building on that contribution Greg Combet made."
The sector, which is mostly centred around the Williamtown RAAF base, is presently worth an estimated $945 million for the region.
Most of the major players have signalled their intention to expand their investment in the region in coming years.
The Hunter Region is also in the running to be named as Australia's east coast nuclear submarine base.
Mr Conroy would not be drawn on the Hunter's chances of securing the base.
"There's a fair way to go on the submarines. There is the 18-month process that Defence has put in place around procurement strategy. I'm looking forward to my first briefings in that area," he said.
"I can't take sides but all I can say is having a Defence Industries Minister from your region can only be a good thing - I am the Defence Industries Minister for Australia, not just the Hunter."
Mr Conroy, who has previously served in several shadow ministry positions and was returned to his seat of Shortland in the May 21 federal election with a slight swing to the ALP, said he was humbled and excited to be appointed to the roles in addition to being the party's most senior representative in the Hunter
He said he looked forward to leveraging his status as the for the benefit of the region.
"Having six MPs from Muswellbrook to Mooney Mooney gives us tremendous influence within the Albanese Labor government. Having a minister magnifies that influence, Mr Conroy said.
"When we were last in power, having ministers in the decision making process was critical in the decision making for projects like HMRI, the Hunter Expressway and the university investment."
