Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

The cost reduction programs and investment programs are managed separately to ensure that Defence achieves its agreed outcomes and can develop reform projects that will deliver enduring benefits. Investment funds can be allocated to both cost reduction and non-cost reduction SRP reform streams, and to Groups and Services for a variety of reform activities. As such the investment funds can not be solely attributable to cost reduction streams, and thus not considered on a net basis.

Developing a 'net' view by reducing the SRP cost reduction target by the total SRP investment funds is misleading due to the different nature of the programs and their management, as it is not a one-to-one relationship.

Defence will publish the stream cost reductions achieved for the full financial year in the Defence Annual Report 2011-12 which is expected to be released in late 2012.