Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I'm happy to second the motion. I thank the member for Groom for moving this important motion about the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program. It is one of the great institutions of this building, and one that, I think it is fair to say, shares the absolute support of all members of this parliament.

I had my third run in the ADFPP this year. In September I spent a few days underwater on the HMAS Sheean, one of the Royal Australian Navy's six Australian-made Collins class submarines. Australia's submarines are world class and are integral to protecting our national interests. The RAN's submarines are one of the most important ways in which our defence forces can shape Australia's strategic circumstances. The Future Submarine program, which will replace the Collins class subs, is the most expensive procurement Australia has ever made in any context. It will be by far the biggest public expenditure that all of us in the Chamber here today will see in our parliamentary careers.

In estimates on Friday Defence revealed that the cost of this program has blown out to $80 billion and the construction time line has been delayed till 2024. Given the significance of the program to our national security and the cost of it, it's important that we get it right. So it's incumbent on all members of parliament to understand the issues raised by this program to ensure that taxpayers get value for money and that we have the most regionally superior submarines at work in our national interest. The ADFPP is an outstanding opportunity for parliamentarians to get an insight into it firsthand. I really recommend that all parliamentarians interested in the Future Submarine program 'get their hands dirty' under this program on one of the existing Collins class subs.

Whilst I was on board the HMAS Sheean I learnt that Australia's submariners do this crucial job with both professionalism and a very tight fraternal bond. It's not just a job, it's not just a vocation; being a submariner means having a second family. I'd really like to thank the crew of the HMAS Sheean for welcoming me into that family. Thank you for your service on the Sheean and to our country.

I learnt what service and sacrifice in the ADF meant when it was my turn to play host in the exchange component of the ADFPP and I had the pleasure of hosting Commander Jenny Macklin in my parliamentary office. Commander Macklin had just returned from Syria, where she had been deployed as gender adviser to a US-led multinational mission to defeat Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. I'm sure all members would join with me in saying that invariably the highlight of ADFPP—the thing we are most impressed with, the thing we come back to this building and our communities raving about, bragging about, after having done the exchange—isn't the fancy technology, the kit or the hardware; it's the servicemen in the ADF. We never fail to be impressed at their professionalism, the calibre of their intellect and their integrity. That was certainly the case in my experience with Commander Macklin, who in 2018 was recognised by TheAustralian Financial Review as one of Australia's 100 most influential women for her work in the diversity and inclusion field in the Navy and across government. She's also the first gender adviser to be deployed on a maritime exercise and the first gender adviser to be deployed to the multinational exercise in South Korea. I consider it an enormous privilege to have spent a few days with Commander Macklin, and I view my work in this place as being enriched by the conversations that we had.

The shared perspectives of the ADF and our parliamentarians are one of the real value-adds of this program. You are not just hosting someone on exchange in your office but enriching your own understanding of our country and the ADF. Because of this program, we learn from each other and understand each other's worlds a little bit better.

Thank you to Commander Macklin for her participation in the program. Thank you also to Lieutenant Colonel Andy Martin for organising and facilitating the ADFPP. It's a varied experience, dealing with members of parliament, trying to herd us and get us into the culture of the ADF for a week. I take my hat off to Andy for the long service he has put in for this cause. I'd also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the Defence Force personnel who are currently serving in the Middle East, Sudan, Israel, Afghanistan and the Philippines and those safeguarding Australia's maritime interests. Thank you also to our veterans community, to those men and women who have served our nation and have now transitioned out of the defence forces: Labor is committed to working with this government on a bipartisan basis to make sure that we continue to support you and your families.

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