Minister for Defence - Transcript - Interview with Chris Coleman, ABC Riverina

MINISTER:

The starting point, I think is to acknowledge we have increased the Budget to Defence and we’ve taken Defence as a share of GDP to 1.8% going up from about 1.56%. Now the reason why we have had to do this, and may I say there is $500 billion for this Budget, is because the previous Government took $16 billion out of it, which really left the capital account, particularly the Defence capability plan, which is all of the ways we renew and sustain a whole lot of equipment, in complete disarray.

So we are moving from 1938 levels of expenditure in terms of GDP to 2%, which is roughly is what comparable size militaries across Europe and Asia are spending and what is seen as safe and reasonable in terms of security. So we are reasonably pleased, but bear in mind that there is a long way to go. You can’t take $16 billion out of a budget and expect things to be repaired overnight.

There is a lot of rebuilding to do and that is why we are working on a new White Paper due out next year, with a funded Defence Capability Plan and defence force structure review that will set the path out to 2030 as it should have been under the previous Government.

So, people at Wagga, Kapooka, Corowa and other places that have got Defence footprints, can be comfortable and confident that we are getting on with the job, and that we are dinkum about providing proper resourcing to this portfolio.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

There has been a bit of criticism that the JSF, 58 extra JSF and more than $28 billion at the same time that money is being taken out of health and education, according to the coverage, how do you respond to that?

MINISTER:

Well, look I am pleased to respond to that, because we took that decision in 2002 to go with the JSF

CHRIS COLEMAN:

The extra 58 of them ?

MINISTER:

Well, in 2009 we said 100. We’re going to 72 within the second half of the next decade, we will look at where we are at and what decisions the then Government can make, but can I say this about the Joint Strike Fighter - it will be a regionally dominant platform, there is nothing comparable to it, it is a fifth generation fighter and anybody who understands history, any history at all, will understand that air capability is crucial to the survival of our nation, particularly with our vast maritime environment and responsibility.

Now, what has been happening is that since 2006 is we have been funding and putting money away into that particular program, there is no new money into the Joint Strike Fighter Program out over the Defence Capability Plan out to 2025. Now, this is the way Defence runs its capital accounts, we acquire the large capital and put the money away at an early stage because the Government needs to know, when these projects are going to be available, how much it is going to cost, when the payments will be due, it is just good planning. So a whole host of programs have had money taken from them, but this is not one of them. So the Joint Strike Fighter coming forward is probably one of our most important Defence purchases.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

Provided they can get them flying.

MINISTER:

Look, there are a hundred of them flying, there are a whole lot of them at Eglin Air Base and Yuma, in Arizona, the marines have taken possession of them, they’re coming along. This aircraft, I will be very pleased to show you Chris in 5 years, is just the aircraft for us, and is ultimately coming to us at a reasonable price.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

Well if you are still the Defence Minister in 5 years, we know how things can change in politics, you might be in a different portfolio or something, but I’m happy to take you up on the offer for 5 years time, we’ll put it in the diary.

MINISTER:

Sure, Sure.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

Now, let’s talk about what it’s going to mean for someone starting out in a military career in 2014, what opportunities, or potential opportunities are there for people starting off their military careers now.

MINISTER:

Well, I think they are going to realise that this Government is planning and charting a course that is funded, now we are not going to make big splash announcements, but we are going to make sure that the commentators that know what to look for, the Mark Thompsons at ASPI and others that do a constant surveillance if Defence funding can see transparency where the money is coming from and where it is going.

Now, the fact that we have stabilised the haemorrhaging from the Defence Budget, or attempted to means we have a greater responsibility to make sure that we have a clear and transparent chartered course in the portfolio going forward, and of course, in the projects that we are funding, that we are getting good value for money, which is a huge increase in responsibility on Defence, to get better value for money, so we’re conducting reform.

There will be some considerable reform, we’ve got about 20,600 civilians running about 56,000 uniforms, now, I still think that’s a bit fat and happy, so we will look at try trying to reform those numbers of public servants, bring them down as carefully, through natural attrition as we possibly can. This is the responsibility that is upon our shoulders to go forward, given that we are trying to stabilise and re-finance the Defence portfolio.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

Is part of that the resumption of the GAP year program that was cancelled just a few years back?

MINISTER:

Absolutely, and I am very proud to say that we are putting more money into that, because we see the GAP year as a fundamental resource of finding good recruits for the ADF. It has been very successful in the past, but it was allowed to wane. We are re-jigging money into it. Of course it is also a great opportunity for women to try the Defence force out over one year and see if they want to make a career out of it. And may I say, we have taken a number of women in the ADF, more than ever before to higher and higher percentage points.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

A couple of things that are Defence related, not necessarily budget related, the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, I know Defence has been the lead agency on that from an Australian perspective, we keep pumping money into the search until it eventually gets found or is there a point where in the grand scheme of things, it’s out there, it is a very small piece of metal in a very, very large body of water.

MINISTER:

Well, you’ve said it all Chris. What we’ve done, we’ve got an aircraft on standby in case something turns up and we’ve got some ships on stand-by too but we are currently talking with the Malaysians, who really are the leaders on this and own the operation, because it is their aircraft, now, if there is one positive, it is the way China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, USA and UK have all come together to conduct various parts of this operation.

Potentially we are talking about a 700km long, 80km wide strip of the Indian Ocean that’s almost 2,000km off the coast of Western Australia; it has to be surveilled with water depths up to 7,000km so we have a huge task. We are in a new planning phase now where we are getting more high power seabed sonars out on to the site, to do the scanning that we need to do try and find this aircraft.

You know it is just a terrible tragedy for all those connected, the passengers and crew, and for Malaysia. I think we have done a good thing by stumping up our aircraft and all of our ships, and bringing all of the international players together.

And look, it is a huge task and I know that the Prime Minister is very, very keen to do all that we can to try and find this aircraft and solve this mystery. We are talking to the Malaysians on a weekly basis on how the plan is coming forward to put more high powered vessels onto the water so that we can scan that area that we think the aircraft has ditched into.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

You’ll keep us posted, thorough the media on that one. The final question for you, as the Minister for Defence, when’s your next trip to Wagga, Kapooka or the other air base?

MINISTER:

Look that is a really good question. I wish I could say it was this week, but I’ve got parliamentary duties, I’ve got Shangri-La in Singapore coming up, where I’ve got to talk to our neighbourhood, talking to the Indonesians, the Japanese etc, I am hoping to be there soon, I’m really keen to see what we are doing in Wagga, because we have got the school of technical trade there, we’ve got logistics training, recruit training unit, and of course Kapooka is very important in terms of basic training, we’ve got parachuting going on down in Corowa and all of these things mean, that in your area that there is a huge contribution to the Defence of our nation and the Defence footprint is very, very significant. I’m keen to get out there, you’ll just have to bear with me, there is just a million and one different tugs on my time, and of course going from Townsville to Darwin, where we’ve got a whole lot of marines up there, down to Melbourne to have a look at new ships being built, Adelaide to look at submarines, it’s all happening but this is a very significant part of our overall Defence outlook and I’m keen to get there sometime soon.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

I look forward to having a chat with you when you’re in town then

MINISTER:

Good on you Chris, nice to speak to you.

CHRIS COLEMAN:

Senator the Hon. David Johnston, Minister for Defence, nice to talk to you too on ABC Riverina.