Defence White Paper 2008 Public Consultation

The Community Consultation Panel was convened in the Gallipoli Room, Anzac House, Perth earlier this evening by the Chair Mr Stephen Loosley and Deputy Chair Mr Arthur Sinodinos AO, the complement of the Panel having as its members Rear Admiral Simon Harrington AM RAN (Rtd); The Hon. Peter Collins AM QC and Professor Tanya Monro.

After the Panels introduction and video, including the prologue by the Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, the Panel members were rewarded with a variety of interesting verbal submissions on topics ranging from the value of the Caribou light tactical aircraft, fuel and transport security; importance of the contribution of the Reserves; civil-military cooperation (special interest of Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, Dr Mike Kelly); clarification of the Aegis system as a 360 degree radar system (sans delay due to rotation) in answer to a question about anti-satellite missile systems and Australia's planned capability; recognition that adhoc platform-centric approach to the networked battlefield should change to a holistic, networked process for bringing capability to the ADF; suggestion to purchase of STOL F35 jump jet for increased capability (reprising a retired chief of air force).

The meeting was not all beer and skittles with several people eloquently and passionately voicing their dissent at the very premise of spending on an armed military, including Senator Jo Valentine who made the eminently supportable suggestion to create an 'Earth Defence Force.' Also raised was the importance of training for people on peace-keeping missions in conflict resolution, mediation and restorative justice; we were reminded by another than the Reserve brings civilian skills that regular army may not have, including commanders on Operation Anode who are also teachers.

In spite of the relatively sparse, local turnout (maybe 30 people attended, I didn't count) there was a heartening presence of concerned public who voiced views that ranged from strongly antiwar to concern for civilian casualties and returning veterans. In unambiguous terms, we were told of the pointlessness of war and heartbreaking loss of life, against the benefits of greater participation in peace-keeping and humanitarian missions, with a greater focus on the human element in contrast to the increasing expenditure on high technology weapons systems. People for nuclear disarmament WA were represented, suggesting a halt to foreign uranium sales.

There is so much to agree with that I did so publicly, against my intuition to speak in support of those clearly opposed to the status quo in the defence establishment. The debate reinforced in my mind the value of our democracy and the ability to be heard by those in positions of influence, even if the conversation was between such a small group that could hardly be representative of the wider community.

Let's relate the comments of a certain engineer and physics PhD who advocated for the extraordinary capability of WA defence industry, academic and research organisations. He spoke in the context of defence core business and science, remarking on the erosion of Australia's strategic leadership in submarine warfare due to the increasing number of submarines in the region.

He recommended the exploitation of WA capability in acoustics and systems to develop networked anti-submarine warfare capability, in the absence of the old Navy Research Lab, and to fund in Western Australia a Centre of Excellence in Oceanic Signal Processing to further this aim, with wider goals the surveying and exploitation of natural resources - the focus on acoustics signal processing, scientific and algorithm research and development.(*)

With the Collins class fleet base and longest state coast line, WA has a central role in the design and development of the next generation submarine. Also mentioned the Australian Marine Complex and Common user Facility, whereby refits, eg. Collins class by ASC in their modern facility, and visiting foreign vessels, contribute to followup work involving high technology and stimulating local R&D.

I followed up with my familiar refrain (to those who know me at all) of the need to encourage the creation of appropriate tertiary education and training in software and systems engineering, and software and systems architecture; relevant to a wide range of industries aside from defence, eg. utilities, rail and aerospace where high reliability, high integrity systems are required.

(*) Keep your eye on the website for progress or please email me directly to comment, make suggestions or be involved.