Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I will continue my contribution on the Defence Capability Assurance and Oversight Bill 2023. As I began with my short contribution at the end of last year, I want to put on record my support for this bill, which has been brought before the Senate by my colleague Senator David Fawcett. I know that Senator Fawcett put an incredible amount of hard work into developing this bill, which seeks to improve the processes by which defence equipment and materials are procured for use by the Australian Defence Forces.

Following its introduction to the Senate last year, the Defence Capability Assurance and Oversight Bill 2023 was referred to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee on 11 May 2023. Both Senator Fawcett and I sit on this committee, and the committee heard evidence from witnesses across two public hearings, including from the Department of Defence, the International Test and Evaluation Association and Nova Systems. Following the hearings and taking into account evidence from written submissions made on the bill, it is the view of coalition senators that this bill be amended and passed today. I will briefly address our amendments to the bill and foreshadow them later in my contribution.

The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee tabled its final report on 24 November last year. It was disappointing that government members of that committee have recommended that the bill not be passed, despite the fact that a majority of submitters and witnesses were supportive of the bill. Of the submissions received from individuals with considerable knowledge and expertise in test and evaluation, many raised concerns with Australia's defence capability assurance system. In fact, despite recommending that the bill not be passed, the report of the committee itself notes:

Defence has itself acknowledged that it has 'sometimes failed' to live up to its commitment to ensuring adequate T&E is performed in the context of capability acquisition and sustainment decisions.

It is encouraging that Defence has acknowledged these shortcomings in relation to test and evaluation and, as the committee report notes, is working to address these deficiencies.

However, coalition senators do not believe that the views expressed in the majority committee report reflect the extent of the concern raised by expert witnesses in regard to the current state of defence test and evaluation capability and practice. As coalition senators don't support the findings in the majority report, we tabled a dissenting report in support of the bill, which would establish a defence capability assurance agency and related oversight bodies. The coalition recognises that there are many dedicated and hardworking people within both the Australian Defence Force and the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, all working to upgrade and modernise Australia's defence capabilities to meet current and future challenges. The adoption of this bill that we're debating here today would only enhance their ability to assess risks and make timely decisions when it comes to investment in and acquisition of defence capabilities.

This bill proposes a number of important reforms that should be considered in relation to Australia's future defence procurement and capability. The bill creates an independent statutory body responsible for assessing the complex risks associated with materiel procurement and sustainment, including but not limited to technical risks pertaining to performance and certification. This will expedite the procurement of defence capability by providing capability managers and government a high degree of confidence in the veracity and completeness of the information that they use to make timely, risk informed decisions. It will also provide assurance to capability managers, the Australian government and the parliament that weapons systems will be available for use when required and effective against extant and emerging threats. This bill will make existing defence procurement processes and requirements more effective and more efficient. The explanatory memorandum states that the bill seeks to address the root cause of past failures and ensure that defence acquisition and sustainment decisions are well informed by test and evaluation based on four core principles: independence, task-specific competence, transparency and accountability.

As I flagged earlier, coalition senators, in our dissenting report, flagged a number of amendments informed through the public hearings and written submissions which take into account the views and expert evidence from witnesses. Coalition senators recommend the bill and explanatory memorandum be amended to: remove the establishment of a parliamentary joint committee on defence and require the government to include oversight of the defence capability assurance agency that this bill would establish by the joint statutory committee on defence which was announced in August last year in response to work by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; require the defence capability assurance agency to benchmark test and evaluation qualification and practice standards with relevant professional associations and peer organisations to ensure they reflect international best practice; and clarify that the defence capability assurance agency, as a Commonwealth agency, will be responsible for the award of contracts for T&E services and require the board to engage with industry stakeholders during its establishment to ensure that there is an effective mechanism to provide open and fair competition. All of these amendments will be dealt with in the committee stage by my colleague Senator Fawcett.

Of course we recommend that the bill be passed. There is no doubt this bill should be amended and passed. Like I said, my colleague Senator Fawcett has put significant time and effort into this private senator's bill which we have now before the Senate. The Defence Capability Assurance and Oversight Bill 2023 proposes a number of important reforms that should be considered in relation to Australia's future defence procurement and capability including by creating an independent statutory body responsible for assessing the risks associated with materiel procurement and sustainment. It has gone through the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, and, as I said, written submissions and testimony from witnesses during the public hearings have further developed and refined this bill, which is once again a sign of this Senate and our Senate committees doing their work incredibly well, with feedback informing the amendments that Senator Fawcett will table later in relation to this bill. It is imperative that this bill be amended and passed by the Senate today to improve Australia's national security. I commend the bill to the Senate.