‘Bang for buck': Labor unveils major revamp of Defence bureaucracy
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The news: Defence Minister Richard Marles has unveiled a major shake-up of the Defence bureaucracy in a bid to avoid major cost blowouts wracking the department.
The context: On Monday, Marles announced the creation of the independent Defence Delivery Agency (DDA) from 1 July 2027 in what Labor describes as the biggest revamp of the department in 50 years.
The agency, which will report directly to Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, will integrate three existing capability delivery groups — the Capability and Sustainment Group, the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group, and the Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Group — under one group.
Once the government has approved a purchase or project, the DDA will have control over the relevant budget.
The new agency will begin as a group within Defence from July 1, before its full establishment as an independent agency by mid-2027.
A new National Armaments Director (NAD) will be appointed to head the agency, and report directly to the defence and defence industry ministers. The government is expected to settle on a candidate with project delivery experience, rather than military experience, to fill the role.
Defence has been routinely plagued by cost and timeframe blowouts, and the NAD will be empowered to provide realistic — rather than optimistic — advice to government on new purchases and ongoing projects being implemented by the department.
Marles described the revamp as the biggest shakeup of the department since the mid 1970s, when the Navy, Air Force and Army were brought under the same umbrella.
He said the DDA will ensure “the biggest bang for buck” as the government increases its defence spending.
“It will mean that advice comes to government much more early in the process, about the challenges that are facing any particular program in particular projects, so that we can ensure those projects are delivered on time and on budget,” he told reporters.
Despite speculation of jobs cuts to pay for an increase in spending on AUKUS, Marles insisted the DDA would include “the same amount of people” brought in from the three existing capability delivery groups.
The defence minister also confirmed Australia was monitoring a Chinese naval fleet, currently in the Philippine Sea, which reports suggested had the capacity to reach Australia.
Marles described the monitoring as “routine” and said there was no current evidence to suggest the fleet was on its way to Australia.
“We continue to monitor it as we monitor all movements until we know that the task groups are not coming to Australia,” he said.
What they said: “All the steps that we have taken is really a root and branch review of the way in which Defence operates, so that we get the best quality spend, so that we get the best bang for buck from the Defence dollar,” Marles said.
The sources: Defence Minister press conference, Australian Financial Review
