Television Interview, Sunrise

SUBJECTS: Senior commanders in the military; Defence delivery reform; Housing crisis.

NATALIE BARR, HOST: ADF Chief David Johnston has issued a warning to politicians in Canberra saying the force is now one of the most top‑heavy militaries in the world with too many senior commanders. Admiral Johnston says he's looking at reducing those numbers, a move that comes just days after Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles announced a major overhaul of the Defence Department. And for more, we're joined by Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles. Good morning to you. Tell us, is the ADF too top‑heavy? 

ACTING PRIME MINISTER, RICHARD MARLES: Well, we're working with the CDF around the star ranks and the numbers of them, it's something that we are always mindful about, it really is important that you have an appropriate ratio between those who are at the highest levels of command and the rest of the force, and this is important to make sure that we have that in balance, and we'll continue to work with the CDF about that. 

BARR: It sounds like it's not in balance though, the Admiral Johnston, the head of the ADF, says this is one of the highest concentrations in the world for the size of the force. So we've got a lot of people at the top. Is your new revamp of the force going to change that? 

MARLES: Well, it is a separate thing, but it is an important point that Admiral Johnston is making, and it's important to make sure that we are not too top‑heavy and this is something that we are going to constantly review, and we have been, to ensure that the force is in balance. The announcements that we made earlier in the week is really within the Department of Defence itself, and it's focused on putting a focus on delivery to make sure that we get the best bang for buck for what we are spending in defence. For far too long we've seen defence programs running over time and over budget, and this in establishing the Defence Delivery Agency, is about ensuring that we do put a focus on delivery, making sure that programs are on time and on budget, and we are confident that this will make a big difference. 

BARR: Okay. Moving on, the RBA Governor has made it clear during Senate Estimates that the government's housing policy is to blame for sky‑rocketing prices, not monetary policy. Do you accept that assessment? 

MARLES: Well, look, we've been managing the budget in a prudent way, and we've been doing that since we've come to government. I mean when we came to government, we turned two Liberal deficits into two Labor surpluses, and in our third year we've significantly reduced the deficit that was projected. So we continue to manage spending in the best possible way so that we can do everything we can to put a downward pressure on inflation. 

BARR: The trouble is you've got a problem with the supply of housing; you are 70,000 houses behind, and now you've got the head of the RBA saying, you know, all things being equal, if there are less savings in the economy, and that includes government, you know, this could put upward pressure on interest rates. So is the government on alert for this? 

MARLES: Well, we're managing the budget in a prudent way. Inflation is significantly less today than when we came to government. 

BARR: Which was ‑‑ 

MARLES: ‑‑ and in respect of housing ‑‑ 

BARR: ‑‑ that was skewed 'cause it was COVID, of course. 

MARLES: Well ‑‑ 

BARR: Yeah. 

MARLES: Well, we have brought inflation down significantly. I mean when we came to government we were seeing inflation going north, interest rates going north, we've now seen three interest rate cuts, we've brought inflation down to about less than half of what we inherited. So, that's a significant change to that. And in respect of housing specifically, we do understand there is a housing challenge in this country, which is why we are in the process of building more houses after a decade under the former Coalition government where they did precious little in respect of housing. You know, we're managing all of the challenges within the economy, but we are doing it in a prudent way, and whichever way you look at it, the circumstances today in terms of interest rates coming down, in terms of inflation being less, is much better than what we inherited. 

BARR: Okay. Richard Marles, thank you very much for your time today. 

MARLES: Thanks Nat.

ENDS