LIBERALS PRESIDE OVER BLOWOUTS IN CRITICAL DEFENCE PROJECTS

September 27, 2019

More than a dozen critical Australian Defence Force capability acquisition projects are running years behind schedule under the Morrison Government’s revolving door of Defence Ministers.

 

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information have revealed schedule blowouts across multi-billion dollar projects which could have a real impact on the ground for Australian Defence Force personnel.

 

The documents also show the delays have grown worse during 2019, indicating that the Government is failing to manage Defence capability acquisition projects effectively.

 

In the three months between December 2018 and March 2019, the Government allowed six defence projects worth more than $6 billion to be delayed cumulatively nearly 10 years.

 

In total, 14 major Defence capability acquisition projects worth $14.99 billion are now running a cumulative 311 months late – more than 25 years.

 

These include:

 

• The $3.77 billion Multi-Role Helicopter project’s anticipated delivery of Final Operational Capability is now running nearly two and a half years late.

 

• Two new fleets of Special Operations Vehicles for the ADF’s special forces were due to be delivered in August 2016, but will now not be delivered and be fully capable until December 2020.

 

• The high profile and very important Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicles are needed for ADF personnel now – yet in only three months delivery of initial operating capability for this $1.98 billion project to acquire 1,100 vehicles has blown out by a year.

 

The revolving door of Defence Ministers under this Liberal Government is clearly contributing to project blowouts.

 

In the six years since the Liberals came to office, Defence Ministers have only conducted three Projects of Concern Summits, despite Defence policy stating a Ministerial Summit should be held every six months.

 

In Parliament this month, the Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said: “As the Minister for Defence Industry, my priorities are clear: defence capability is built on time, on budget and on spec.”

 

These documents show that she is failing to meet her own priorities.

 

Ministers Reynolds and Price need to stop boasting about defence investment and start delivering the capabilities Australia’s defence personnel need to do their jobs.

 

 

Summary – Defence Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Quarterly Performance Report (QPR)

	Total Budget	Dec 2018 QPR	Mar 2019 QPR
Projects of concern
Multi-Role Helicopter	$3,771 m	28 months late	29 months late
Deployable Defence Air Traffic Management and Control System	$95 m	40 months late	40 months late
Projects of interest
Amphibious Ships	$3,092 m	37 months late	37 months late
F-35A Joint Strike Fighter	$16,524 m	Nil slippage	Nil slippage
Civil Military Air Traffic Management System	$976 m	Nil slippage	4 months late
Battlefield Command System	$960 m	7 months late	12 months late
Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light (Hawkei)	$1,980 m	Nil slippage	12 months late
Pilot Training System	$1,245 m	Degraded IOC	13 months late
ADF Identification Friend or Foe and ADS Broadcast	$436 m	28 months	28 months
Defence Satellite Communications Capability Phase5A	$422 m	24 months	42 months
Airborne Early Warning and Control Upgrade	$1,191 m	12 months	12 months
Maritime Operational Support Capability	$1,071 m	redacted	No slippage
Special Operations Vehicle fleets	$332 m	redacted	40 months late
Rapid Environmental Assessment	$46 m	15 months	12 months
Hercules C-130J Block Upgrade	$238 m	Redacted	18 months
Fixed Defence Air Traffic Control Surveillance Sensors	$202 m	22 months	12 months