Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

It is a delight to speak on the contribution of defence science to the security of our nation. Our Australian Defence Force has internationally been recognised as a defence force that punches well above its weight. Punching well above your weight does not just come from having a very well-trained and disciplined defence force; it comes from supplying the men and women of the defence force with the equipment, the platforms and the technology they need to be able to do their job effectively.

Warfare today is significantly different to the warfare conducted just a few decades ago. Not only have there been fewer state-versus-state conflicts across the globe but we have witnessed a phenomenal increase in asymmetric warfare and in those willing to use such warfare for their own purposes. Too often the symbolic date of 9-11 is referred to as being the start of terrorist campaigns and asymmetric warfare, but I think it goes back to the days of Lockerbie, which has been in the news recently, and the advent of terrorism using whatever means necessary to bring about disruption, downfall of government and financial strains on countries and to instil fear into communities.

Aside from the strategic shift in the way warfare is now conducted and the manner in which defence forces now have to plan for future conflicts, there has also been a very rapid advancement in defence technologies to support those efforts. Developing technologies in rapid response to the new and emerging threats is key and critical. For example, new warfare means that have strongly emerged in particular since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been improvised explosive devices, and the face and the nature of those devices have changed from being very small and very basic military equipment to now incorporating high technology—the use of mobile phones planted in the devices to set off charges. It is important is that the science addresses those emerging threats.

We have talked about the fine scientific minds in our nation, but unlike years gone by, where our top scientific minds would sit in a laboratory testing, developing and checking, these fine minds now serve on the front line with Australia’s finest soldiers, sailors and airmen witnessing, experiencing and looking at these technologies so they can provide instant response, taking that science and putting it straight back into the laboratory so their colleagues can work on new and innovative ways of addressing threats which would not only take the lives of Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen but also the lives of innocent victims, innocent players, in the pursuit of terrorism driven by those with ulterior means and motives to destroy everything we stand for in the way of democracy, freedoms and the ability of people to go about their life by peaceful means. So the science of warfare is as important as those who go out into the field to prosecute the arguments of warfare to reduce terrorism. Making sure, though, that these people have the tools and the resources necessary to conduct the science that brings about speedy resolution is key and critical.

I congratulate the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Mr Combet, on his speech today. It was a great rundown through the history of all of the accomplishments over the decades of the Defence Science Technology Organisation and the great people who have worked there. Some of Australia’s leading minds have worked there. In fact, one of our own colleagues Dennis Jensen was a scientist at DSTO working on the submarine project. So many people from many fields work there and we need to make sure that we as a nation keep investing in the people who can bring about these opportunities, this science and this technology.

There are many people amongst the 2,300 scientists, engineers, researchers, technicians, the new and emerging area of IT specialists and support staff who work for DSTO. As I have travelled around Australia to the various DSTO outfits, I have met these people and they are some of perhaps the most enthusiastic people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Without being rude or dismissive of them, they are perhaps some of the most anal people I have ever met. They are so focused on the job that they have to do that everything else is immaterial. They are so fixated on achieving the outcome because they know that if they achieve that outcome they are going to save lives. It is not just about tinkering with machines and information. Their focus is on saving lives, not only the lives of our Defence personnel but also the lives of innocent people who are the victims of terrorism.

If I were to use a more polite word—and I meant no disrespect to them individually or as a group—they are perhaps some of the most excited people I have ever met. The way they talk about their inventions, their creations and their value adding to technology cannot help but inspire you in looking at what they do, and their dedication to their work, their attitude, is due in no small part to the fact that they understand the uniqueness and the importance of the work that they conduct. There may be people who have great minds and have great ability but who perhaps are not prepared to engage in developing defence technologies for the benefit of our nation and our allies, but their contribution can be equally supportive in an indirect way.

The speech just given by Minister Combet on the work undertaken by DSTO and their achievements, their support of our Defence Force and industry sectors is truly welcome. For most people, the work of DSTO is not really known out there in the general public. It is almost like they are the secret service—the service that people do not know exists—but they understand the outcomes that DSTO achieve, and they achieve it on a very tight budget. This is a group of scientists, 2,300 people, who achieve a lot for the amount of money that is invested in them. I will not revisit all of the scientific breakthroughs that have been covered by the minister, but one in particular that I have had a look at when I was out on a ship it was on is the Nulka ship launch missile countermeasure device which is designed to act as a decoy to incoming radar guided antiship missiles.

We are a relatively small nation and as such we have a reasonably sized defence force and a reasonably sized armada of ships. Over the next couple of decades we will see an expansion of those ships with new warfare destroyers. We will see an upgrading of our ships, but making sure that they have a survivability at sea is key and critical. One cannot just walk in and buy things off the shelf. They take years of design and development and our Defence Force people on those ships are the most important assets that we have in our Defence Force. Platforms and bits of metal are one thing, but it is our people who are the most important. So an instrument like a Nulka—a decoy which will take a radar guided missile away from the ship, thereby protecting the asset and protecting the personnel—is a very important piece of design technology created in Australia. The Nulka is now in use with the Royal Australian Navy and the US Navy. Here is where our science has developed technology which is able to be exported to our allies. Australia again is at the forefront of technology and doing what it can not just for our people but for our allies who serve alongside us. Science technology can earn massive amounts of money for Australia, but as the minister rightly said it can save a lot of money for Australia as well. One example that he identified very close to me at RAAF Base Williamtown is the cost savings in excess of $400 million by, through science, extending the life structure of the centre barrel for the FA18.

This fleet was thought to have reached a critical point in its fatigue structure. Through scientific testing they were able to extend the life of that, which fits in better with our platform procurement, whether it is through the Super Hornets or indeed the Joint Strike Fighter, and extends their lives. By extending their lives, we save money. It is not something that you can just enter into. It is not done through guessometrics because people fly these platforms and you cannot put people’s lives at undue risk, so the science, the research and the technical correctness is very critical. Importantly, through proper funding we can achieve even greater savings and understanding of defence technologies through the science.

The DSTO has been very important in investigating the development of physical employment standards for Australian Defence Force personnel. The development of such standards will produce rigorous scientific standards for employment categories in the ADF and may potentially open up new avenues of employment for women. The coalition is committed to increasing opportunities for women in the Australian Defence Force. It is not just rhetoric; it is action. I note that my colleague the former Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, is here today. He was one of the key drivers in creating equality of opportunity for all people in Australia to serve our nation in a variety of capacities. Through this program we will see opportunities open up. We will see that people, because of their commitment, because of their courage, will be able to serve Australia and its needs in theatres of operation to the best of their ability. In designing these standards we are putting people with capacity into the right placements to achieve the maximum outcome. This is good stuff for Australia, and it is good for the people in our defence forces to know that there are designs around their capability to make sure that they can have maximum impact.

One of the other science improvements that I witnessed at DSTO was at the forefront of air-to-air missile technology. They provided substantial expertise, in conjunction with our RAAF, in developing the lock-after-launch ASRAAM missile capability. This capability was developed so that the ASRAAM missile can be fired at an enemy aircraft that is flying behind an engaged aircraft. Having talked to the RAAF pilots at Williamtown, I know that this is important technology. To manoeuvre your aircraft in such a way that you can do a loop over the back and engage a missile or indeed an aircraft that is pursuing you in a dogfight is very difficult—no matter what the platform. Australian science has developed the ASRAAM missile, which can be deployed and locked on after launch to an aircraft or a missile that is following an aircraft, therefore protecting Australian lives and allowing us to go further and deeper into areas of operation to prosecute the arguments that we ask our Defence Force people to do for us.

This is good technology, designed and developed by Australians, and it is technology that is now proven. I have been informed by DSTO that this lock-after-launch ASRAAM missile has the capability of picking up a missile five kilometres away, when it is pursuing an aircraft, and taking it out of operation. The work undertaken by the DSTO is invaluable. It is invaluable because it not only helps to protect our troops and ADF personnel in the front line but also helps save the Australia taxpayer a considerable amount of money and, most importantly, continues to help Australia to maintain its military technology edge.

The speech given by my opposite number has served two purposes today. First, it has served to highlight to the public the exceptional work that DSTO has been engaged in, and I must stress that their work is invaluable. As I said, DSTO’s work not only supports our troops today but, critically, will ensure our technological edge into the future. However, the minister has also used this statement in an attempt to gloss over his government’s shameless acts of cutting funding from Australia’s premier research institutions such as CSIRO, ANSTO and DSTO. He should be ashamed of himself for politicising the genuine good work of DSTO. Just when we thought that the politicisation of defence had come to an end with the dismissal of Joel Fitzgibbon, I stand here today growing increasingly concerned with the direction in which this minister is taking defence. While the minister was happy to speak about the successes of DSTO and the good work of its many scientists, engineers and researchers, he conveniently forgot—or, more accurately, deliberately omitted—certain information about his government’s policies that have cut funding for DSTO and, by extension, joint DSTO and industry programs.

I am reminded of the Treasurer’s budget night speech where he decided to announce the government’s spending initiatives while deliberately omitting anything to do with national debt. It is unfortunate that Minister Combet has decided to submit to the Rudd Labor government’s policy of ‘spin over substance’. It is a decision that will ultimately be to the detriment of DSTO and our serving men and women. For the record, the Rudd Labor government has implemented a program that will see a significant reduction to DSTO staffing levels and their budget. Despite the minister’s rhetoric about the importance of DSTO, he is overseeing policies that will see DSTO’s budget cut by more than $108 million over the next 10 years. The minister stands here talking about the fine work that they have done but there is not a mention of the budget cuts over the next 10 years. This is only small compared to the $20 billion of cuts being implemented by the Rudd Labor government broadly across defence.

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