Page 6 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2019

Paddling like mad
KATHERINE ZIESING | CANBERRA
www.australiandefence.com.au
MANAGING EDITOR: Katherine Ziesing Email: katherineziesing@yaffa.com.au Tel: (02) 6203 9535 Mob: 0419 014 308.
DEPUTY EDITOR: Nigel Pittaway Email: cnpittaway@bigpond.com.au Tel 03 5428 7875
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT – SYDNEY: Julian Kerr Email: jhrhkerr@bigpond.net.au Tel: (02) 02 9960 4054 Mob: 0418 635 823
ONLINE EDITOR: Ewen Levick Email: ewenlevick@yaffa.com.au Tel (02) 9213 8249 Mob: 0447 961 544
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Gregor Ferguson | Sydney Rob Napier | Melbourne Tristan Perez | Brisbane
BRISBANE OFFICE
PO Box 9165, Wynnum Plaza, QLD 4178 AUSTRALIA
Tel: (07) 3348 6966 International: Tel: 61-7-3348 6966 Fax: 61-7-3348 6511
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Kylie Leonard Email: kylieleonard@yaffa.com.au
BOOKS EDITOR: Peter Masters Email: petermasters@yaffa.com.au
NATIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER: David Jones
Tel: (07) 3348 6966 Mob: 0412 188 100 Email: davidjones@yaffa.com.au
SUBSCRIPTIONS GREATMAGAZINES.COM.AU CALL 1800 807 760
EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS@YAFFA.COM.AU
POP quiz readers; when was the following written by the Lowy Institute?
“The burden of strategic risk on Austra- lia’s national interests is increasing. Those interests are extensive and face a widening range of risks, from coercion or conflict in Asia to resurgent terrorism and aggression in other parts of the globe. Australia’s region is becoming more central to global power balances and strategic tensions. Power bal- ances are changing with China’s rise, and this will encourage risk-taking.
“Conflict between states is more about constant competition and coercion than the prospect of all-out war. The probability of war in Asia is small but real, and greater than a few years ago. Disruptive technologies are altering calculations of military advantage.
“Deep dependence on energy, informa- tion, trade and human links with the out- side world makes Australia vulnerable. This means that challenges to global order are risks to Australian interests as well. But no country can pay equal heed to them all, or meet them alone.
“Together, these factors mean that the number and kind of security contingencies that could affect Australia will grow. Austra- lia’s defence will involve meaningful contri- butions to securing its lifelines to the wider world.
“Thus Australia will need to protect its sovereignty, provide security in a troubled immediate neighbourhood, and contrib- ute to the security of the broader Indo- Pacific region and beyond. In the next 20 years, there are many plausible situations in which Australian governments might want military options, including regional crisis interventions, contributions to US-led coali- tions, and missions to safeguard maritime interests.”
The correct answer is November 2014. But they could have easily been written at any time in the past five years. The challenges outlined above are perhaps more acute then they were in the lead up to the 2016 White Paper and its associated policy docu- ments along with the suite of guidance the government has released since that time.
In the space of those five years, the RAN,
and indeed the wider ADF, have hit a num- ber of important milestones in terms of ca- pabilities old and new. From the LHDs and AWDs hitting the water, to supply ships and venerable DDGs being paid off, a mas- sive increase in Collins class reliability and availability, Navy is in a strong position. At this very moment, the workforce is the largest is has been for 20 years and is on track to grow year on year, with both in- creases in recruitment and retention across the board. All this sits behind the current headline of the $90 billion national ship- building program, the largest recapitalisa- tion of Navy since WWII.
Processes and frameworks are being put in place to make that sure Navy, its Defence industry partners and the wider Australian society can answer this de- mand. From the workforce and training being shaped by the Naval Shipbuilding College to Plan Pelorus and Headmark 22 within Navy itself, there is a lot of pad- dling going on underneath the duck on the pond. There simply has to be if the plans outlined in the 2016 White Paper are to be met to answer the challenges outlined in 2014 by the Lowy Institute.
Yet I feel an itch, a point of friction, be- hind the headlines. Yes there is much work being done on the workforce front but I fear there will still be gaps for both Navy and industry to fall into given the scale of what government has asked of them in the timeframe desired. The concurrency of the Collins Life of Type Extension from a Full Cycle Docking in 2026 (at a yet to be de- termined location; another editorial all of its own), the build of the first Attack class boats, alongside the Hunter and Arafura class builds plus sustainment of the current fleet means that Navy and industry will be stretched, uncomfortably so. There are also another three ships in the wings for mine counter measures/hydrography with the accelerated retirement of the Huon class mine hunters in the 2020s.
The shell game of funding all these pro- grams alongside Defence’s other major acquisition and sustainment programs will also be a feat of accounting prowess. What
Australia New Zealand Asia
Rest Of World
Via air mail 1 Year
1 Year
1 Year
1 Year
$A165.00 $A185.00 $A220.00 $A280.00
MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS TO Subscription Department, Australian Defence Magazine GPO Box 606 Sydney NSW 2001 10% discount for subscription agents
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Tracy Yaffa PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Matthew Gunn ART DIRECTOR: Ana Heraud STUDIO MANAGER: Lauren Esdaile DESIGNER: Maria Alegro MARKETING MANAGER: Lucy Yaffa
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION: John Viskovich Tel: (02) 9213 8215
Email: johnviskovich@yaffa.com.au
AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MAGAZINE (ADM) is published in the second week of each month by Yaffa Media Pty Ltd
ACN 002 699 354.
17-21 Bellevue Street Surry Hills NSW 2010, Tel: (02) 9281 2333 Fax: (02) 9281 2750
Australian Defence Magazine also publishes the weekly newsletter Defence Week Premium and
the Directory of Defence Suppliers every six months.
Copyright ©2019
All material appearing in ADM is copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without permission in writing from the publisher. The publishers accept sole responsibility for the contents of this publication, which may in no way be taken to represent the views of the Department of Defence, the Australian Defence Force or any other agency of the Commonwealth of Australia.
6 | October 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
EDITORIAL