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Subject:
www.theaustralian.news.com.au: Defence cuts 'endanger 4th destroyer'
tjkhan
3/23/2008 7:37:23 PM
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Defence cuts 'endanger 4th destroyer'
Mark Dodd | March 24, 2008
THE Rudd Government's announcement that it intends to slash $10 billion in defence funding over the next decade has been condemned as sounding the death knell for the navy's fourth air warfare destroyer while jeopardising the project's economic benefits for South Australia.
The surprise budget cuts marked a return to the Labor of old - hostile to the military - and all Australians should be worried about the development, Opposition defence spokesman Nick Minchin said yesterday.
But Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon strongly rejected the charges, telling The Australian that all savings will be returned to defence and would not affect the capability plans.
He said the cuts were necessary after the Howard government's multi-billion defence splurge.
Targets had been set and it was now up to Defence bureaucrats to report back to the Government on where savings would be made.
These would most likely fall most heavily on the civilian component of Defence, with gains of up to $1 billion a year, Mr Fitzgibbon said.
"In coming years Labor will spend a record amount of money on defence - more than the Howard government ever spent," he said. "Labor will ensure these record amounts are spent efficiently and effectively.
"We will stop the waste and mismanagement, and trim the fat out of the Defence bureaucracy."
Areas such as operations, logistics and capability would not be touched, he said.
And he told the Nine Network's Sunday program the Government was re-examining the prospects of acquiring the stealth F-22 Raptor fighter, which is currently prohibited for export by the US Congress.
Senator Minchin said he was unconvinced of the minister's claims that defence cuts would target only civilian employees, and he warned that the razor gang's axe was likely to fall on forward procurements.
He accused Mr Fitzgibbon of "sneaking out" the details of the cuts two days after parliament rose for an eight-week break.
"This is a very significant announcement and should have been done properly and released properly while parliament was sitting so it could be properly scrutinised," he said. "It is quite an extraordinary announcement to demand that the defence budget be cut by $1billion a year for the next 10 years.
"I am worried this is a return to the Labor of old, because Labor has a long tradition of being hostile to defence."
Labor had broken its promise on defence spending by restricting annual growth to a maximum of 3per cent compared with 3.5 per cent under the Coalition, Senator Minchin said. With multiple security risks looming, now was not the time to be cutting the defence budget to fund Labor's other election promises, he said.
The order for 100 advanced Joint Strike Fighters was now in jeopardy and so was the prospect of the navy getting a fourth air warfare destroyer.
Three 6250-tonne destroyers will be built by the Australian Submarine Corporation at its South Australian Osborne yard for an estimated $6 billion. Canberra says it is keeping open its options for a fourth.
"All South Australians should be concerned about what is now likely to be an order for only three, not four," Senator Minchin said. "There is much to be said for a fourth ship."
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