Aussie MoD, Opposition Continue Sniping (Sept. 28)
Kim Beazley has claimed today that it is "entirely untrue" that his Coast Guard proposal will involve the loss of assets and personnel from the Royal Australian Navy.
Labor's plan to take the Patrol Boats from the Navy and give them to a Coast Guard would delete around half the surface response capability of the RAN and would civilianise defence positions. Kim Beazley's denial that his policy will damage the RAN is refuted in evidence presented to the recent parliamentary inquiry into Coastwatch.
Mr Alan Behm, Head of Strategy and Ministerial Services Division in the Department of Defence observed:
"Patrol Boats [are] a critical asset for the Royal Australian Navy, all the way from induction of junior staff through to the most senior command of Navy ... for many of our most experienced naval officers the initial operational experience that they get through the Patrol Boats is integral to the expertise that the Navy brings to much higher levels of operational expertise. For these sorts of reasons, as we said in our submission, Defence does have a number of reservations about just how smart it would be to go down the path of the establishment of a freestanding Coast Guard." (JCPAA, Hansard, 30/1/01) (ends)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Although of limited international significance, the statements below are reproduced to illustrate an increasingly rare situation, in which defense becomes an election issue in a Western democracy. Paul Reith is the current minister of defense ; his predecessor Kim Beazley is leader of the Opposition).Beazley Wrong On Coast Guard
