Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail, an airborne early control and warning aircraft, has reached its final operational capability; and

(b) this aircraft is a significant enhancement for our Australian Defence Force (ADF) and has been a vital asset on Operation Okra in the Middle East region; and

(2) acknowledges the excellent work done by ADF personnel in carrying out their roles of protecting Australia and its national interests.

In defence circles, we sometimes hear the phrase 'force multiplier'. A force multiplier is a technology or a tactic which, when employed, has the ability to significantly increase the effectiveness of a unit. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of joining the Minister for Defence at RAAF Base Fairbairn for a ceremony to mark the completion of Project AIR 5077 Phase 3. While the name is not particularly inspiring, the result of that project certainly is. On display on the tarmac that afternoon was the Royal Australian Air Force's newest asset, the E-7A Wedgetail. The Wedgetail is a significant force multiplier for the Australian Defence Force and one of the most advanced military aircraft in the world. The RAAF Wedgetail is an all-seeing eye in the sky, equipped with advanced multi-role electronically scanned array radar. The Wedgetail controls tactical battle space both in the air and on the surface. A Wedgetail can detect and accurately track aircraft across a huge area of sky; in fact, a single Wedgetail can cover over four million square kilometres in a single mission. This incredible capability allows the ADF's other assets, particularly aircraft, to get into the right place at the right time to complete their missions.

In the theatre of combat such as the skies over Iraq right now, Wedgetail aircraft and their RAAF crews are coordinating and directing allied aircraft in their fight against terrorists and the so-called Islamic State. Already the RAAF Wedgetails have flown over 120 missions over Iraq with our coalition partners, logging more than 1,500 flying hours. Reports back from Iraq indicate the Wedgetail is performing admirably. One aircraft concluded a single mission lasting 16 hours and 18 minutes and including two air-to-air refuellings. This is the longest any 737 based aircraft has ever flown.

Beyond the ADF's combat roles, Wedgetails have been deployed closer to home in the search for MH370, with the aircraft working over the southern Indian Ocean, directing other aircraft over the search areas.

This government is committed to equipping the men and women of the Australian Defence Force with the tools they need to get the job done. Under the previous, Labor government, spending on the ADF fell to its lowest level as a percentage of GDP since 1938. The coalition government is working hard in a tight financial environment to undo some of the damage done by Labor's ham-fisted cuts. This financial year we are investing $7.2 billion in Defence equipment, nearly double the amount Labor spent in their slash-and-burn budget of 2012-13.

Since coming to office the coalition has committed to upgrading the RAAF's capabilities with additional C17 heavy transport aircraft, P8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircrafts, Triton unmanned aerial vehicles and an additional 58 state-of-the-art Joint Strike Fighters. On the ground our army is getting new protective equipment for soldiers, including a new generation body armour. We are funding new vehicles for our special forces soldiers and have begun a tender process—LAND 400—to replace ASLAVs. The Royal Australian Navy is seeing replacement programs for its vessels being brought forward. The Future Frigate Program has been moved forward three years with a commitment to the ships being built in Australia. Our offshore patrol vessel replacement program has been brought forward two years with a commitment to being built in Australia.

As you know, I have a very big Defence contingent in my electorate, and in the little time I have left I would like to place on record congratulations and thanks to the fantastic men and women of the Australian Defence Force. They do a fantastic job to keep and protect all of us, and we are absolutely committed to making sure that, if we put people in harm's way, we will do everything we can to ensure that they have the right equipment to stay safe.

Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this motion and agree with most of what the member for Solomon said, but we will just disregard the cheeky political stuff because I think this is a good motion that should be spoken about properly. Recently I had the honour of spending time with the 42nd Wing 2nd Squadron of Williamtown air base in the electorate of the member for Newcastle, sitting beside me, who kindly allowed me into her electorate. I must say that it was a fantastic opportunity to spend time on the E7A Wedgetail in operational use.

For obvious reasons, I am not going to go into detail about how the aircraft operates, but I can say that it is one special bit of kit crewed by exceptional people. I was immediately impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm the crew have for their job, their pride in the work they were doing and how this work protected our nation and kept our fighter pilots and ground troops out of harm's way.

We now have the opportunity for detailed briefings and witness the Wedgetail in action, including what I would call a scary in-flight fuel refill. That is something that really shakes you up a bit—when you are sitting in the front of a 737 at 21,000 feet and you are 30 feet from the back of another jetliner full of fuel. It is not something you would normally expect when you travel. The professionalism in which it was done was something to behold. It is a credit to the pilots and all the staff involved.

It is worth noting some of the significant milestones of the aircraft: in 2014, air control of marine patrol aircraft taking part in the search for MH370; in October 2014, the first Australian sortie over Iraq supporting coalition forces conducting airstrikes against Daesh; and in 2015 the Wedgetail performed the longest Australian command-and-control mission over a war zone—a 16-hour and 18-minute combat mission over Iraq, including two of the air-to-air refuelling to stay aloft. Wedgetail crews routinely performed 13-hour missions. Operation OKRA is another part of the Defence Force's contribution to the international effort to combat Daesh, the terrorist threat in Iraq. Australia's contribution has been closely coordinated with the Iraqi government, the Gulf nations, and the broad coalition of international partners. I was reading an article in which the commander of Australia's Air Task Group, Air Commodore Steve Roberton, commented on the endurance mission and what it meant. The article states:

"After already being ‘on station’ for a number of hours, the Australian Wedgetail crew was advised the Coalition aircraft due to relieve them was delayed," Air Commodore Roberton said.

In response, the Wedgetail crew quickly assessed their ability to coordinate additional air-to-air refuelling and agreed to substantially extend their mission.

“Try to imagine coordinating a short-notice, mid-air refuel for a Boeing 737 in the middle of a combat zone. It is no small task,” he said.

Air Commodore Roberton noted Australia’s ability to ‘go above and beyond’ is a clear demonstration of the nation’s important contribution to the Coalition air campaign.

The E-7A Wedgetail crew completed two air-to-air refuels during this mission, allowing it to stay airborne and make the historic time.

The fact is, these aircraft are the envy of other nations. It has not happened by default—it has happened because of skills the RAAF personnel have obtained.

I also recently read an article by Brian Hartigan, titled: 'When the "shit got real" for Australia’s Wedgetail'. He writes:

That first mission was supposed to be a fairly easy-paced shadowing of an American E-3 Sentry on station over the northern-Iraqi Battle Management Area (BMA), to allow the mission crew (using their own onboard callsign “Outback”) to observe how the job was done in real time before taking on any live tasking.

But when the ageing E-3 developed technical problems … the Aussies stepped up and took over—throwing themselves and Australia’s newest and most advanced warplane headlong into the fight.

…   …   …

So successful has Australia’s Wedgetail now become that stories of American strike squadrons delaying or planning missions to coincide with Wedgetail flight times have filtered back to a proud Aussie hierarchy.

This aircraft is a vital piece of our Defence Force and its capability to defend our nation. It may not be as exciting to look at as a Super Hornet or a JSF but, I tell you, the crews who fly these things and the crews who put the capability into action, including the magnificent ground crew, and the men and women of the surveillance response group in this country—we would be far worse off without them. The Boeing E7A Wedgetail, an airborne early control and warning aircraft, has reached its final operational capacity. That is due to the skills of the ADF personnel and we thank them very much for their service to our nation. (Time expired)

Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

2015 marks an important milestone for our Defence Force capability. After so many years of inaction, reduced investment and a lack of security vision for Australia, we now have a sense of appropriate investment and the ability to protect our people while also participating on the international defence stage. Whilst I am always most impressed by the work, training and personnel of HMAS Albatross and HMAS Creswell, it is never good to gloss over the other significant Defence developments. Knowing that the process of defence procurement is a complicated and multi-layered one, it is great to acknowledge that our six new Wedgetail aircraft have the logistics, management plans and sustainment chains, facilities and training protocols all in place. The Boeing E7A Wedgetail is an airborne early control and warning aircraft, and provides our nation with one of the most advanced air battleship capabilities in the world.

The Howard government made the decision to commence the Wedgetail program, known as AIR 5077 Phase 3, in 2000. This a heavily modified Boeing 737-700 with an advanced multi-role electronically scanned array radar and 10 mission crew consoles. It is probably one of the most advanced pieces of technology for the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF base in Williamtown, Newcastle, is the home of these aircraft. Australia's six E7As are capable of communicating with aircraft and providing air control from the sky. They can cover four million square kilometres during a single 10-hour mission while, at the same time, being in control of the tactical battle space, providing direction for other fighter aircraft, surface combatants and land-based elements, and supporting aircraft such as tankers and intelligence platforms.

The Wedgetail significantly multiplies the effectiveness of our existing Navy, Army and Air Force, and it will help Australia maintain a capability edge well into the future. To date, they have completed more than 120 sorties with our coalition partners over Iraq, flying more than 1,500 hours. It is highly reliable and effective in all of its operations. So far, it has also participated in defence exercises Bersama Lima, Cope North, Red Flag and Pitch Black. It is currently deployed in Operation OKRA supporting the coalition forces in their fight against Daesh. The aircraft has already participated in other landmark events—actually, I should say airspace events. In fact, one Australian Wedgetail crew made Boeing 737 history when they conducted 16 hour and 18 minute command control mission over Iraq, requiring two air-to-air refuels. It has also been involved in the search for the downed plane, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, in the southern Indian Ocean, safely controlling and directing air traffic to the search areas.

The highly specialised crew of the Wedgetail aircraft, and the Royal Australian Air Force more generally, are to be commended on the work they are doing to enhance this unique capability, providing support to coalition forces in the Middle East as a main event. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Defence Force men and women who have been involved in those operations, demonstrating the immense professionalism and dedication of our very talented air crew, ground crew, supply crew and all those involved in the very effective running of these fighting machines.

It is vitally important not just to acknowledge the outstanding work of our Defence Force personnel in words, but to also acknowledge them by continuing to invest in their equipment, training and other financial needs. We are putting $7.2 billion into our defence equipment—nearly double the amount spent in the last disastrous 2012-13 budget, which took us down to a lousy 1938 expenditure level for defence. Our defence personnel need to know that we have confidence in them, that we will invest in them and we will look after them. We are committed to making decisions to modernise our Air Force—as well as many other aspects of the Navy, because that is my local base—and we are looking at 58 Joint Strike Fighters. This year, the government is also delivering new and improved personal protective equipment for our soldiers, including new generation body armour—how welcome that will be! There will be more to announce later this year once the 2015 defence white paper is handed down. This white paper will reflect the government's strategic national security fiscal and border policy priorities, outlining our total commitment to ensuring a safe and secure Australia through increased funding for our vital Defence Force.

Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think this is a good motion. I have been disappointed by the politicisation of it by those opposite—a theme that I will return to in a minute.

The E7 Wedgetail is a great platform for the RAAF. I am really proud that it is based out of RAAF Williamtown in the member for Newcastle's seat—my neighbour's seat—with the mighty No. 2 Squadron. It is some of the best equipment in the world, and I have had the honour of visiting the squadron many times. In fact, in a previous role I had the privilege of visiting the Northrop Grumman radar factory in Baltimore, Maryland, where they were producing this world-beating radar. It is a great platform for the RAAF, but it has been delivered 6½ years too late because of the incompetence of coalition governments, who are great at signing cheques for the ADF but are hopeless at delivering the platforms that the ADF actually need on time and on budget.

This is a classic example of this. This contract was signed under Prime Minister John Howard. It was an incredibly detailed development project. It was a project that the ADF and the Defence Materiel Organisation freely admit challenged the laws of physics in terms of the capabilities specified in the contract. Ultimately, because of the incompetence of coalition governments, it was delivered 6½ years later than originally scheduled. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated example. Of the top 30 acquisition projects by the ADF, 87 per cent of schedule slippage has been in projects approved under coalition governments. The total of deferred capabilities of 81 years. Let me repeat that. In projects approved by coalition governments, government mismanagement has led to deferred capability of 81 years. That is equipment that the ADF has desperately needed and that their government has failed to provide. The projects of concern are projects that have had acquisition problems and are posing challenges. They are behind time, over budget or they are not able to be delivered. Of the 10 projects on the projects of concern list, all 10 were approved by coalition governments. Let me repeat the point. There is a bit of a pattern here. They are happy to sign cheques, they are happy to grandstand, but they cannot deliver the projects because they do not understand defence procurement.

It was a Labor government that substantially reformed defence procurement through processes like the projects of concern process, empowering the Defence Materiel Organisation to work with contractors and the ADF to really get to the nub of these issues, work out what was wrong with the contract, what had broken down in the relationship between the contractor, the DMO and the end user, and really get to the heart of it. The Wedgetail project is a classic example of that. When we came to power in 2007, and I had the honour of working for the then parliamentary secretary for defence procurement, this project was in deep, deep trouble. We had had to cancel the Seasprite project because of failures of the last government. Wedgetail was in huge trouble. We had a contractor who was unable to deliver the project, saying that the things the Commonwealth was demanding were outside the laws of physics. They had subcontractors who were not able to deliver on their systems and were not able to talk to the contractor. We had the DMO's relationship with the contractor breaking down, we had the relationship between the RAAF, the contractor and the DMO in serious trouble. But through instituting the projects of concern process, through convening high-level, CEO-level discussions between the DMO, the contractors and the RAAF, we were able to get a breakthrough on the contract, we were able to get external experts, the Lincoln laboratories, in from the United States to look at the radar issues and find a way forward. We were able to resolve this issue so that this platform was eventually delivered to the RAAF, and we are now celebrating what a great capability it is.

It is only through this focus that we can deliver these extremely complex projects. No country does defence procurement perfectly. It is a very complex area because you want the best equipment for your armed services, but you need a government focused not just on signing cheques but on delivering capability, working with the defence industry, working with the ADF, working with the DMO, so that the materiel is delivered on time and on budget. This is why this motion and the debate have been so disappointing. Instead of celebrating what was achieved, instead of working out and honouring how we resolved it so we could learn from it, we saw nasty politicisation of this whole issue. But, ignoring that for a second, I am glad that the RAAF has finally got the Wedgetail. I am glad that it has achieved FIC. I am glad that it is doing sterling work in the Middle East, based out of RAAF Williamtown, and will do for decades to come. I commend the motion to the chamber.

Debate adjourned.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 12:43