Industry leadership

We’re making the state’s defence industry the strongest and most capable in Australia.

To do this, we need a mix of leadership, expertise, experience and local insight to identify and help unlock opportunities for industry growth.

Strategic Defence Advisors

With a wealth of combined military experience, our Strategic Defence Advisors bring to Queensland strong insights into the world of defence and industry. They provide high-level advice to the Queensland Government on identifying and attracting strategic project opportunities to our state. Queensland’s strategic defence advisors are:

Rear Admiral Simon Cullen AM CSC (Ret’d): Strategic Defence Advisor for Maritime

Rear Admiral Simon Cullen (retired) was appointed as Queensland Strategic Defence Advisor – Maritime in October 2017.

He served in the Royal Australian Navy for 38 years, with key appointments including Chief of Staff to Commander Joint Task Force 633 in Baghdad, Iraq, Deputy Commander of the Australian Fleet, Inaugural Director General Maritime Operations at Headquarters Joint Operations Command and Deputy Commander of the Combined Task Force for Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).

Simon is Vice Chairman of the Board for the Institute for Regional Security and active in a number of naval associations.

He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia and United States Legion of Merit.

Air Vice-Marshal Neil Hart AM (Ret’d): Strategic Defence Advisor for Aerospace

Air Vice-Marshal Neil Hart (retired) was appointed as Queensland Strategic Defence Advisor – Air in March 2018.

Neil is a former Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) fighter pilot with senior leadership, command and operations management and expertise in all aspects of air, space, information, cyber and electronic warfare. Senior appointments included Deputy Chief of Air Force, Director-General Capability Planning, Head Force Structure Review and Head ‘One Defence’ Implementation. Neil is a board member of the Australian Defence Force Airworthiness Board.

He is a Member in the Military Division of the Order of Australia.