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Let me begin, Mr Speaker, by assuring the House that the
administration of the Department of Defence continues uninterrupted and
unaffected by recent events.
* All important matters are being dealt with in a timely and
professional manner and I am determined to ensure this continues.
* Mr Speaker, in order to understand the determination of the
Government to improve the administration of Defence, the House needs to
clearly understand the simple but key objective which is driving the
Government's approach.
- We all know Australia's strategic circumstances are becoming more
uncertain.
- As a result, the demands on the men and women of our Defence Force
is increasing.
- We need a Defence Force which is capable of providing the Government
of the day with a greater range of options with which to respond to an
increasing range of possible contingencies.
- Accordingly Mr Speaker, I make no apology whatsoever for setting the
highest possible standards for the administration of Defence and requiring
that they be met.
- I will not ask anything less of the senior officials and officers of
Defence than I would ask of the men and women in uniform.
-- They deserve nothing less, and the
Government is determined to ensure they receive nothing less.
The Coalition's vision for Defence
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* The defence of Australia is one of the central priorities of the
Government.
* We are strongly committed to building a stronger and more secure
Australia.
* We are also committed to obtaining the greatest value possible for
each dollar spent.
* We are building a Defence Force that is sharper, more
combat-focused, better-equipped, more mobile, more capable and
operationally-ready.
* We are strongly committed to this approach because the Government
believes Australia's strategic environment is becoming much more uncertain
and as a result, even greater demands will be placed upon Defence than at
present.
* The past eighteen months have seen a number of events in our region
further complicate our strategic environment:
- political instability caused by the Asian economic downturn;
- political change in Indonesia and East Timor;
- strained relations between the United States and China;
- recent hostilities between India and Pakistan, coupled with their
recent nuclear and missile tests;
- and the ballistic missile test by North Korea are some clear
examples.
* As a result of these challenges, the Government has made an
increasing range of demands on the ADF.
* We require the ADF to be ready to undertake a variety of tasks,
often at short notice.
* We see this as a vital contribution to shaping our strategic
environment, and not just reacting to changes in it.
* This situation raises significant challenges for the Government.
* The Government and people of Australia must be satisfied that all
current resources allocated to Defence are being used as effectively and
efficiently as possible.
* The Government is therefore strongly committed to improving the
management and leadership of Defence and will continue to insist on the
highest possible standards.
* The strategic environment around Australia is changing at a
quickening pace. Defence needs to keep up with this pace of change through
the reform program.
* We have shifted the emphasis in Defence towards enhancing current
capabilities,
-- to ensure the ADF can present a greater range of
practical options to the Government when faced with the need to respond.
- Nothing better demonstrates that we are achieving significant
improvement in this area than the fact that a second Army brigade-sized
group has been brought to 28 days' notice.
- The Government realises that we need a Defence Force which is
capable of providing the Government of the day with a greater range of
options with which to respond to an increasing range of possible
contingencies.
- This extra brigade provides the flexibility that this Government
needs in these changing strategic times.
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* Nothing more strongly rejects the allegations by the Labor Party
than the facts.
- And the fact is that the ADF is in better shape and at a higher
state of readiness than since the Vietnam war.
* This is the shape that the ADF is in now. But when we came to
office we found that the ADF was rife with inefficiency.
* The Defence Efficiency Review which was completed in 1997, found
that Defence was not working as well as it could or should.
* The Defence Reform Program is all about changing that, enhancing the
ADF's combat capabilities and meeting the Government's requirement for
increased preparedness.
- These reforms seek nothing less than a fundamental realignment of
the way Defence is managed and led.
- In particular, they seek to provide a defence procurement system
that is more flexible, responsive, innovative and efficient.
* Because events in our region are unfolding rapidly, we are regularly
reviewing our strategic circumstances.
* As part of this process of review, the Government intends to produce
a Defence White Paper in the year 2000 that will help establish the future
direction for Australia's defence into the 21st Century.
- The new White Paper will need to show how Australia's defence policy
will adapt to meet our changing strategic environment, and resulting force
structure, industry and personnel requirements.
- Finally, it will also need to tackle some hard questions about how
we sustain high levels of current readiness, as well as a demanding future
investment program within tight budget requirements.
* Australia has one of the most professional and dedicated defence
forces in the world. The Government is rightly proud of the men and women
who serve in Defence.
* These men and women deserve the best support from Defence
Headquarters in Canberra
-- and the Government requires the highest standards of
management and leadership from the Department of Defence, now, and into the
future.
* The challenges that our nation faces demand no less.
Acquisition
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* One of the most important areas of responsibility of the Minister
for Defence is the acquisition of new equipment and the management of the
major projects essential to the strong future of our forces.
* This is an area where the Labor Party particularly badly let down
the people of Australia and the men and women of our Defence forces.
* The Government is determined to improve the management of major
project acquisition within Defence.
* We make no apology for taking a tough line on the management of
projects. We believe it is in the national interest to do so and we will be
continuing to reform this particular area of the Department.
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* There is no area of the administration of the Department where
Labor's record in Government was worse than the area of the management of
major projects.
* The management of the Collins submarine project was nothing short
of a national disgrace and stands as an example of Labor's incompetence in
Government.
* when Dr McIntosh's report was released a few months ago I notice the
Shadow Minister said he welcomed" the Report and described our changes to
Defence acquisition as "positive".
* Well, let's have a look at what Dr McIntosh and Mr Prescott had to
say in their report.
* One of the most important things they dealt with was the combat
system and in their report they said (pg 11)
"Combat systems have a notorious history of disasters."
"By including the combat system with the platform in the single
prime contract...Defence left itself wide open to...technological problems."
Other countries "have recognised the problem and have taken the
major step of cancelling that route and moving to a much more reliable route
based on commercial off-the-shelf technology."
"Although known about earlier, the problem was first seriously highlighted
in 1993, but the opportunity was not then taken to make fundamental changes
in the configuration of the system or the choice of subcontractor."
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* It is expected the combat system will take hundreds of millions of
dollars to fix.
* It is yet another costly legacy of Labor.
* another example where Labor's mal-administration has cost the people
of Australia dearly.
* and they dare to raise the issue of the administration of the
Department in this House.
* The fact is the Government is taking the hard decisions necessary to
improve the administration of the Department and to provide the men and
women of our armed services with the level of support they deserve and need.
Coalition record and achievements
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* Let me now turn to some of the Coalition's specific achievements.
Second Brigade at 28 days' readiness
* As I have indicated before, the Government is committed to ensuring
that we have an Australian Defence Force that is capable of providing more
options to Government...
-- At a time when strategic uncertainty makes this
so very important.
* And as I have already said, Australia now boasts the highest level
of readiness since the Vietnam War.
-- All as part of the Coalition's vision for a Defence
Force that is adaptable and ready for the uncertainties of our region.
Defence Spending
Mr Deputy Speaker:
* This Government's commitment to Defence can be clearly seen in our
attitude to the funding of Defence.
* When coming to office, we maintained Defence spending in line with
the Forward Estimates in the 1995-96 Budget.
* And again in the 1999 Budget, the Government committed to maintain
the Defence funding base in that 1999-2000 Budget.
Strategic Policy
* Mr Speaker, I turn now to strategic policy.
* As I have indicated before, the current strategic circumstances are
more uncertain than ever before.
* The Howard Government is well aware of this, and has conducted a
searching review of Australia's strategic situation.
* We are not going to react in a knee-jerk fashion.
* We are taking a professional approach to the development of
strategic documents, as this is a very serious matter.
* The Coalition's record on strategic policy is one of professional,
systematic attention:
- in November 1997, the Government endorsed Australia's Strategic
Policy 1997.
-- This statement is the key document in
the Government's plan to ensure Australia has a modern, relevant military.
- A new Defence White Paper is in preparation, and will be released by
the Government next year.
Defence Reform Program
* A central element of the Government's vision for Defence is for a
lean Defence Force...
-- one that is not hampered by waste and inefficiency.
* The Defence Reform Program is a very important means of achieving
such a Defence Force.
* The Defence Reform Program seeks nothing less than a fundamental
realignment of the way Defence is managed and led.
* In particular, these reforms seek to provide a defence procurement
system that is more flexible, responsive, innovative and efficient.
* And the fact is that the DRP will generate savings of up to $1
billion every year by early next century.
* Savings which will be reinvested in Defence facilities and projects.
* The DRP is all about removing inefficiencies and reinvesting the
savings into a more combat capable Defence Force.
Defence Personnel
* As I indicated before, the Government expects nothing less than the
best from our ADF personnel.
* And in return we have committed ourselves to Australia's Defence
Personnel, introducing a number of initiatives.
* For example:
- The Defence Personnel Executive was established to play an integral
role in matters such as force capability considerations.
- The Defence Community Organisation has been established to provide
effective and efficient support to defence members and their families.
- Also, the ADF Spouse Employment Initiative was established to
provide ADF spouses with a range of measures to reduce employment
difficulties caused by their mobile lifestyle.
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