Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to express Labor's support for the Defence Legislation Amendment (First Principles) Bill, which will enable implementation of certain recommendations from the First Principles Review and instil a stronger, whole-of-organisation approach within Defence. Labor's support for this bill is in line with our often expressed position that we will take a bipartisan approach on national security matters when we are satisfied it is in the national interest.

We support the provisions of the bill that are designed to implement two specific recommendations of the First Principles Review. The first clearly establishes the role of the Chief of the Defence Force as the commander of the Australian Defence Force. The other amends the Navigation Act to allow for the consolidation of geospatial information functions in the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation. We have no objection to these two recommendations of the First Principles Review and support their implementation.

We are aware that some in the Defence community regard the changes to the role of the Chief of the Defence Force and the statutory authority of the service chiefs as undesirable. In satisfying ourselves that the proposed changes are in the national interest, we sought and received assurances from Defence leadership that these changes codify existing arrangements in Defence. We also sought and received public assurances from all three service chiefs that they were supportive of the changes, and we consulted with service organisations. We have been reassured that this legislative change will make no substantive difference to the very real and continuing traditions of each of the services.

This bill proposes changes that will see the legislative coverage of the Defence Reserves amalgamated into a single Defence Act. This is a welcome step and continues, in legislative terms, the integration of the reserves into the total force concept that Labor initiated through Plan Suakin and Plan Beersheba.

Labor also note that the bill provides a clearer legal framework for the cadets, which we welcome. The changes clearly establish that the cadets are not part of the ADF and that instructors are not members of the ADF by virtue of their role. The changes also make clear that the cadets are a volunteer based youth development organisation. Labor support these changes as we consider that they better reflect the nature of the cadets program and make it clear that the cadets are not a junior military force. We support the introduction of an annual report on the cadets from the Chief of the Defence Force.

Labor also note the nature of the ADF employment relationship has, until now, been expressed in regulation. This bill seeks to enshrine this relationship in legislation, in the Defence Act, which we support. We believe that such an important issue should be in legislation in the interests of transparency and as one more sign of the unique nature of military service.

For the reasons I have outlined, Labor support this bill. We believe it seeks to make sensible changes that should improve the administration of Defence. In conclusion, I would like to thank the minister and her office for their willingness to make departmental officials available to brief the opposition. The cooperation shown by the minister's office and the department was greatly appreciated.

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to indicate my support for the Defence Legislation Amendment (First Principles) Bill, but I want to put this bill in context. It implements just one small part of the First Principles Review into Defence. That review was instigated by the current government, by former minister Senator Johnston, in August 2014. I commend Senator Johnston for his leadership on this issue. This was a very good thing to do, and it is great to see that the current defence minister is following this through, which I think is very important.

In a nutshell, the review is about making our defence forces and the resources provided to them to be more effective in terms of both defending our nation and delivering better value for money for taxpayers. What I have learnt, though, in Senate estimates, over a number of torturous occasions, is that there is much more work to be done to ensure that Defence procurement decisions and the processes for those decisions must be improved. I do not think there should be too much dispute about that.

For instance, the questions I have asked about submarine combat systems indicate that potentially hundreds of millions of dollars have not been spent wisely; we could have had a better outcome had all options been explored. A locally built combat system, I believe, would have been a much better option. That option would have meant a much greater degree of Australian industry involvement with Australian control of that combat system.

Just last week, I was in Singapore visiting the Defence Science and Technology Agency and met with its CEO, Mr Tan Peng Yam, and senior executives of the DSTA. I talked to them about how they went about procuring their defence capabilities and also about the fact that, for their submarines, there is a local capability in respect of their combat systems.

I note that the whole basis of the First Principles Review, or one of the key underpinnings of it, is to have true contestability in Defence. What this means is that Defence should encourage scrutiny from both within Defence and externally to ensure the best outcomes for our nation's defence and the most cost-effective way of achieving that. That may involve challenging conventional orthodoxies in the way that Defence goes about its business, particularly procurement.

So I welcome this bill in that it implements one of the many recommendations of the First Principles Review. But in relation to this particular bill, I do have some minor concerns that I would like to explore with the Minister for Defence briefly in the context of the committee stage. They relate to how command may override some elements of contestability. I would also like some clarification in relation to the minister's ability to independently seek advice as to the single service perspectives of the Chief of Army, the Chief of Navy and the Chief of Air Force, which may differ from the single perspective presented to the minister through the CDF as part of One Defence. That is, I think, a genuine question in the context of what that means where there is a One Defence approach but there may be nuanced differences between Army, Navy and the Air Force. I would like that to be clarified during the committee stages of this debate.

I would also like an update from the minister, in the course of the committee or at some other time, as to the other aspects of the First Principles Review, which I believe have a lot of merit in improving our Defence forces, having that genuine contestability within Defence and having Defence subject to that scrutiny to best deliver outcomes for our nation's defence in a way that is most efficient for our taxpayers but, above all, to make sure that the security of our nation is most robustly looked after. The First Principles Review, I believe, goes some way in enhancing the defence of our nation.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank both Senator Dastyari and Senator Xenophon for their contributions to this debate and their acknowledgement of the support of the legislation. The First Principles Review of Defence, which was commissioned by this government in 2014, recommended changes to the Defence Act 1903 to formally recognise the authority of the Chief of the Defence Force and the Vice Chief of the Defence Force. The Defence Legislation Amendment (First Principles) Bill 2015 will give full command of the Australian Defence Force, made up of the Navy, Army and Air Force, to the CDF by removing legislative limitations in the Defence Act.

Passage of this bill will mean that, for the first time, all three services of the ADF will be incorporated under one act, the Defence Act. All three services will maintain their individual identity and service chiefs, but they will come together as a part of the ADF under the Defence Act. This is historic, because, until now, each service was recognised separately in legislation, in recognition of their different histories. The bill also recognises the VCDF as the deputy of the CDF and clarifies that the powers of the service chiefs are subject to the direction of the Chief of the Defence Force.

The current Defence Act does not explicitly recognise the ADF as a single entity in its own right—rather, it gives the impression that the ADF is a federation of the three services—and it lacks some clarity with respect to command arrangements of the CDF, the VCDF and the service chiefs. The service chiefs' role as a vital element of defence capability is enduring, and they will continue to command their respective service subject to the direction of the CDF. The bill also makes other necessary legislative amendments to make it clear that the Chief of the Defence Force, as the sole commander of the ADF, is able to make appropriate orders or give directions in relation to command, control and administrations of the ADF and for the CDF to direct and administer the ADF cadets. The chain of command and day-to-day operations of ADF members are likely to remain unchanged. The changes will have no effect on ADF members' obligations and entitlements.

The provisions in the Defence Act 1903 establishing the diarchy where the CDF and the Secretary of Defence have joint responsibility for administering the Defence Force will be remade in substantially the same terms, consistent with the First Principles Review recommendations. The bill will also streamline the legislative basis of the ADF, including by repealing the Naval Defence Act 1910 and the Air Force Act 1923 and incorporating the substantive provisions of these acts in tri-service provisions in the Defence Act. The repeal of the Naval Defence Act and the Air Force Act provides the opportunity to both modernise and simplify legislation in relation to the ADF cadets, which are voluntary community-based youth programs established by Defence in partnership with the community. The bill makes it clear that cadets, instructors and officers of cadets are volunteers and are not members of the ADF. The bill will not change the day-to-day activities of cadet units in the community. ADF cadets will continue to be formed into cadet units in Navy, Army and Air Force cadets.

While this bill will bring each of these services together for the first time under one act, none of the traditions or identities will be lost, nor will the history of service and sacrifice that hundreds of thousands of Australians have given under the banners of the Navy, the Army or the Air Force ever be forgotten, especially as we approach Remembrance Day tomorrow. What we will have is a modern Australian Defence Force that is fit for purpose and that is capable of meeting the threats to national security of the 21st century and beyond.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.