Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's review of the Defence annual report 2010-11. I thank the member for Fadden for his solid commitment to the defence and veterans community in Australia in his role as shadow minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel, and for being the coalition's go-to representative for the defence and veterans community in this House.

As the annual report notes, the 2010-11 period was an incredibly busy time for the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. There are ongoing operations in Afghanistan, East Timor and Solomon Islands, and the ADF provided support to communities affected by natural disasters in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria as well as in Pakistan, New Zealand and Japan. Defence also contributed strongly to border protection and other smaller operations. These operations and contributions were during a time of significant cost reductions, and the concurrent execution of the Strategic Reform Plan was one of Defence's highest priorities. In 2010-11, Defence noted that they reached their target of just over $1 billion.

With regard to Afghanistan, as I have noted previously in the House, the review for 2010-11 includes comments from Defence indicating the strong relationship between Australian and coalition forces and the people of Afghanistan, and notes the important role Australia plays in transitioning the operations from the International Security Assistance Force to the Afghan National Security Forces.

The committee also considered the very important role that Defence played during the natural disasters in 2010 and 2011, including the floods across Queensland in early 2011. Defence indicated that approximately 1,976 personnel assisted in some way. I know that the people of Ryan—in Bellbowrie, Indooroopilly, Fig Tree Pocket, St Lucia, Taringa, Auchenflower and Rosalie—strongly appreciated their efforts in the immediate aftermath and during the reconstruction process, as I know the member for Moreton's constituents did as well.

It is important to consider this review in the wider context of defence funding. As a result of the Gillard Labor government's economic incompetence and unwillingness to support Defence, they have most recently torn a $5.5 billion hole in the defence budget, with a total cut of $25 billion over the last five years. Clearly, Labor have been treating—and will continue to treat—the defence community with contempt.

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