Australian Defence: better deals and national service

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Defence 'should negotiate better deals' | NEWS.com.au
THE Government needs to invest more expertise and effort to negotiate better deals when buying big-ticket defence items, a think tank said.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson will today launch a report by The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) on the business of defence.

The CEDA paper follows a string of embarrassing and costly problems with major defence projects such as the Sea Sprite helicopters and the M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier.

It also comes amid speculation the Australian Defence Force's next multi-billion dollar project, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), may not be delivered on time and could cost far more than originally planned.

The report takes in opinions from experts such as former chief of the defence forces Admiral Chris Barrie, defence academic Richard Brabin-Smith and Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) expert Mark Thompson.

Admiral Barrie argues again for a new scheme of national service, warning Australia's ageing population will soon create a huge manpower shortage and make some sort of service scheme necessary.

"For these reasons we ought to think how and when we should shift to a universal national service structure to obtain young people for our armed forces and other critical institutions," Admiral Barrie writes.

"Industry will not be immune from these pressures. There will be a serious reduction in the availability of skilled people to work in our defence industry and also logistical and support companies."

Australian National University (ANU) defence academic Professor Paul Dibb says Australia should look to UK policy for guidance on how to get the best out of the defence industry and Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) fellow Bob Wylie argues for the fostering of small, local defence contractors in Australia.

Dr Nelson last month unveiled the department's latest multi-billion dollar defence equipment shopping list, saying it wanted a new anti-aircraft missile system, upgrades to Anzac frigates, Hawk jet trainers and Hornet fighters.

The government confirmed in this year's budget it will continue with its 2000 Defence White Paper commitment to increase defence spending by three per cent a year until 2015-16.

Stating the obvious really, reintroducing national service is probably a good idea as well, as long as it's done sensibly.