Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

The decisions the opposition is requesting have been taken to address changes that have occurred in the department's resources position over the last year which include a range of new cost pressures across the portfolio, including the following priority areas for investment: $700 million for additional investment in Collins-class submarine sustainment, $550 million for information technology remediation activities across Defence, $400 million for improved housing for Australian Defence Force personnel, $330 million for relocation of defence units from Moorebank to Holsworthy to allow development of the intermodal transport hub, $270 million in additional funding for Navy fleet sustainment, $220 million for investment in maintenance and upgrades of the Defence estate, $160 million for fringe benefit tax liabilities, $150 million for enhanced garrison support services and $70 million for further investment and international engagement under the Defence Cooperation Program.

To manage these internal cost pressures Defence has reallocated and reprioritised $2.9 billion. The majority of that $2.9 billion was reallocated from savings in the Defence Capability Plan and the approved major capital investment program, with further savings, predominantly in 2012-13, from across the general department operating budget. These savings from across the general department operating budget include Navy reprioritising its operating activities and reviewing all non-operational activities, including Navy's international program, and Army reducing the use of M113AS4 vehicles and M1A1 Abrams tanks. That some of these vehicles will be placed in temporary storage is well known now. Army will continue to review these fleets to ensure a viable mechanised capability is maintained.

These budget initiatives build on the efficiencies and savings gained through the Strategic Reform Program, including in the areas of capability development, procurement and acquisition, and the strengthening of personnel and institutional capabilities. The reform will be further considered during the development of the 2013 Defence white paper to ensure that, as you would expect, defence spending, in light of the forced posture review, revised Defence Capability Plan and the savings that have already been identified, is calibrated against an up-to-date assessment of our circumstances in both the short and longer terms. It is important that we acknowledge that some hard decisions have been taken in this budget, and we do not shy away from those decisions. I think it is very important also to say that there is no question about us not accepting the need to make changes in the way we do our business, and we are doing that. We have made it very clear that the allocation across the department was being, as I said earlier, reallocated from savings in the Defence Capability Plan and the Approved Major Capital Investment Program with further savings, predominately in 2012-13, from across the general departmental operating budget. It is very clear to us that we have a job to do here to make sure that we operate more efficiently and that we get better outcomes for the dollar we expend, and that has to happen right across the organisation. I do want to commend the organisation for being part of the decision making and for understanding what these responsibilities mean in terms of providing advice to government as to what we might best do to achieve our targets.

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