More than a hundred high tech jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in export revenue stand to be lost overseas because of planning uncertainty surrounding the Williamtown aerospace precinct.
British-based ejection seat company Martin-Baker has been performing maintenance, repair and overhaul work for the RAAF's Super Hornet, Growler, Joint Strike Fighter and PC21 aircraft at Williamtown since 2017.
It has been attempting to progress plans to establish a specialised manufacturing facility for several years.
But the project, which would employ more than 100 people and have an export value of $400 million in the first seven years, has hit a wall because of the company's inability to secure freehold land.
While there is an abundance of vacant PFAS-contaminated land at Williamtown, much of it is off limits to development.
Martin-Baker says the adjacent Astra Aerolab is not viable option due to the lease-only business model which does not give the certainty the company is seeking for the investment.
With no solution to the impasse in sight, the company is expected to make a decision about the viability of its Australian manufacturing plans in the next six months.
"This is a once in a generation opportunity as the establishment of these manufacturing facilities is a substantial investment. This includes ejection seat upgrades, sustainment spares and pyrotechnics manufacture and testing," Martin-Baker Australia managing director Andrew Eden said.
"If we cannot establish this capability at Williamtown it will be directed permanently to either the USA or UK locations."
He said, unlike some other defence industries, Martin-Baker was not seeking government subsidies or grants to establish the Australian facility.
"We have been attempting to expand for some time and keep coming up against the same problem - the availability of either developable land for purchase or the ability to get the Port Stephens council to agree to rezone and allow development to occur," Mr Eden said.
A spokeswoman for Astra Aerolab, which owns most of the surrounding land, said it was willing to work with all potential partners.
"We have a lot of interest currently in Astra Aerolab and are in commercial negotiations with several companies. We're willing to work through different solutions with anyone," she said.
She said the aerolab was lease-ready and had a strategic approach to being build ready with multiple DA's approved or in application phase. It had appropriate zoning to satisfy current demand
"We are having commercial discussions with several Defence primes. Activating approximately 75 hectares of PFAS-affected land, the area unlocked will supply Williamtown's forecast growth for the next 10-15 years," she said.
Save Port Stephens mayoral candidate Mark Watson called for a common sense approach to the situation.
"It's jobs, jobs, jobs for our local community. They are ongoing stable jobs," he said.
"If we don't solve this problem this opportunity will slip through the cracks and go overseas."
Labor mayoral candidate Leah Anderson said her role on the Hunter Central Coast Joint Regional Planning Panel prevented her from commenting about the matter, while independent mayoral candidate Paul LeMottee also chose not to comment.
Hunter Business chief executive Bob Hawes urged all parties to work together to find a solution.
"As a region we are going to face more challenges like this because we are going to have to fit more people and businesses and industries in. We need to make more employment land both to accommodate the people who are already here and the people who want to come," he said.
"I'm hopeful that the collaborative approach that we are getting good at here will prevail and a solution can be found.
A federal government spokesperson Defence was aware of Martin-Baker Australia's intent to acquire suitable land in support of their expansion plans at Williamtown.
"Through the Defence Industry Development Strategy, the government is committed to procurement reform to transform how Defence does business with industry and enable closer collaboration," he said.
