Editorial: Change the order of the day | ADM December 2011/January 2012

Katherine Ziesing | Canberra

By the time this edition of ADM hits the streets, 2012 will have begun. But before diving into the year ahead, it’s worthwhile looking at the year that was. 2011 saw ups and downs, massive changes in people and over 40 projects approved at either the first or second pass stage.

A number of reviews were handed down on transparency and accountability, submarine sustainment and amphibious sustainment and these were just the publicly released reports. Defence has numerous internal reviews happening in every agency on just about everything I suspect.

Men that have held posts for some time and made their marks upon their respective organisation also made a move, among them DMO CEO Steve Gumley departed, Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Angus Houston and BAE Systems Australia CEO Jim McDowell.

I would also put ADM’s own Gregor Ferguson on this list. He has been central to ADM’s success and the consummate media professional during his time here. I’m sad to see him leave the magazine (for my own sake!) but wish him nothing but the best in his new role with the Aerospace Maritime and Defence Foundation of Australia.

The government was also pleased to announce that it had approved a total of 46 projects at either the first or second pass stage in 2011, a new record. The previous record was 39 in 2006. These 46 approvals are valued at over $6 billion. As always, there was a flurry of announcements in the pre-Christmas period with the Intermediate Pass for the Maritime Patrol Aircraft Replacement (Project Air 7000 Phase 2B); Second pass approval for Digital Terminal Control Systems (Project Land 17 Phase 1B); Approval for the release of funds to complete the Lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo Replacement (Joint Project 2070 Phase 2 Stage 2); and Woomera Test range Upgrade. Details of the latest vehicles approvals can be found on P18.

But there have also been cancellations and early retirements. Land 40 Phase 2 – 40mm Light Weight Automatic Grenade Launcher (LWAGL) along them. “Defence has cancelled contract negotiations with the preferred tenderer because it became clear that the company was not going to deliver what Defence had assessed it had promised,” a Defence spokesman said in April 2011.

There have also been massive changes on the vehicle front in terms of upgrades as various Project Overlander phases are re-aligned and other vehicle upgrades cancelled or delayed.

HMA Ships Manoora and Kanimbla were farewelled and HMAS Choules, formerly RFA Largs Bay, welcomed. The lack of amphibious capability due to sustainment issues that was highlighted early last year in the wake of the Queensland floods was made startlingly clear.

Choules was the first of the unscheduled acquisitions that the government made in 2011. Two more Chinooks are now on the cards, another C-17 Globemaster has been ordered (with another requested) and the last of the Super Hornets have been delivered in record time.

The AWDs and LHDs are on the horizon and nearing quickly; but that could be due to their massive size alongside the challenges and opportunities they both present to the ADF. ADM’s Pacific 2012 supplement looks at some of the issues that the LHD will bring to all services. This capability will truly test just how jointly Australian forces can operate.

2012 looks to be no different. A new and updated Defence Capability Plan (DCP) is due soon. This will no doubt see some reprogramming both to the left and right as the government comes to grips with the economic (and political) conditions it faces to bring the budget back into surplus in 2013-2014. No doubt ASPI’s Mark Thomson at next month’s ADM2012 will have more to say on this issue.

The recommendations from all the reviews and reports will be implemented, alongside ongoing implementation efforts from previous reform documents. This will be happening concurrently with Force Structure and Posture Reviews, the White Paper cycle, Plan Beersheba for Army, New Generation Navy and let’s not forget that the ADF is replacing over 80 per cent of its platforms in the next decade.

Change has not become something that happens sporadically but rather the norm of how business is conducted in Defence.

And there was yet another change in the ministry. ADM is happy to welcome Senator Kim Carr to the post of Defence Materiel Minister, and we would like to thank Jason Clare for his time and effort in the portfolio. Since the creation of the Materiel Minister position, holders of the office have been candidates of the highest quality, reflecting the importance of the Defence industry in government. But this is a double-edged sword. Good people don’t stay in the same political job for very long!

Hopefully by the time you read this, the two new associate secretary positions and a new CEO of the DMO will also have been appointed. But some changes can be slower than others.

So while there may be a lot of change on many fronts, let us not forget that we are all working for an end user that faces a challenge that is changing even more rapidly: the soldier on the ground, at sea or in the air, wherever they may be.