The hint has been dropped and I expect my copy for my birthday!

The journalist's job is to report news as it arises, not to wait for some book 7 years down the track. The 20% budget blowout, the requirement to entirely replace the combat system, the more than two years late delivery and the initial problems with the stealth of the type were all serious, newsworthy concerns at the time and it was in the public interest that they were reported.

 

If you were involved in the project at the time it was undoubtedly unpleasent that it was held up to such public scrutiny, but being accountable is just part of being a public servant in charge of taxpayers money. I've worked in hospitals where the media has scrutinised problems that have occurred so I know that it isn't pleasent, but basically its just part of our working lives and a necessary part of the democratic process so you have to deal with it. 

 

When these issues arise there are usually individual examples of journo's who have reported without balance. That's unfortunately part of life as well. However, I'd note that in general the broadsheets have also reported the successes on exercise of the Collins's after the technical problems were resolved, so you can't accuse them of not reporting the balancing argument when it became available.

Good grief. that has to be one of the single biggest load of bollocks I've seen on here for a while.  You either don't read australian newspapers, or you only read the good bits by sheer luck.

I've yet to see any article that has over the last 10 years (apart from this one) that has not drawn the veiled sword at every passing comment.  Any positive statements are immediately enjoined with follow on comments about them being "dud" etc...  Branding as such has been very effective at the public perception level.

 

My own personal experience was that the broadsheet press always ignored corrective advice when supplied - it was too good a feed to stick with the rubbish that passed as factual and inciteful journalism.  My own Media Liaison Training (compliments of the ABC) was to provide a counter balance to rubbish "paid journalism" (and the ABC prior to 1998 tended to be less confrontational and still maintain jourmalistic integrity.)

 

I have no intention in getting into a too and fro about this - you seem to think that the journos are being dealt unfairly by me - even though my own experience runs counter to that - and it's by direct involvement.

 

We'll leave it at that.  Suffice to say that the broadsheets also know that specific claims can't be publicly defended by RAN or people within ASC/ASCE due to national interest provisions - and they make no effort to be balanced even when the evidence is presented to them. They have been presented with counter info in the past and deliberately ignored it. (They even ignore commentary from International media and professional publications as it obviously has not suited their tone and intent.)

 

So, my loathing for journalists in the australian broadsheets has been honed over time - be it accurate reporting of defence, unemployment or health issues.  Having dealt with a few in my time, they are invariably "Lead and Bleed ambulance chasers".  You may disagree (which is apparent) - but swapping shoes is the norm when countering another persons individual experiences.

 

Walters is to be commended for at least having the balls to front up with a balanced precis of someone elses work (as they know more than a ministerial hack come broadsheet journo ever would) - but his general body of work, and those in his trade are nothing to defend. 

 

/rant off and I'm done with this.

/rant off and I'm done with this.

Ahh, classic GF. Somebody say's something that challenges his view on one of his sacred cows (in this case the Collins class and his vendetta against journalists), so he throws a tantrum, refers to some unverifiable secret information then takes his bat and ball then goes home. Boooooooring.

 

Anyway apart from what I read here virtually my entire knowledge of the Collins class project comes from the broadsheet press. What those broadsheets have told me over the years is that it evolved from being a troubled project that was over budget, late and initially lacked capability, into a world class capability that regularily registers "kills" on the USN. That doesn't sound universally negative to me, not one bit. I'd suggest that the fact that it does to you has more to do with oversensitivity, because you were involved in the team that oversaw the initial problems with the project, and a general lack of enthusiasm for being accountable to the public for what they pay you to do. Hence you consistantly try to shoot the messanger. AFAIC that's piss weak.  

 

 

 

Actually I rarely "take my bat and ball" and go home, but what I refuse to do is to indulge in some tooing and froing on a topic that is so self evident and where an issue has been so skewed beyond acceptable tenets of accurate reporting.  The broadsheet press in this country have weighted the performance of the asset and the project disproportionately against the very neutral and often more positive  press that has been conducted overseas at the same time.  There is a difference between frank, robust, considered and informed debate than "he says she says" inanity cloaked as thoughtful and considered dialogue.  You'll have to excuse me if I seek to avoid getting dragged deep into the bowels of the latter when the evidence is palpable and consistent across the general media.

 

If others want to believe that the ABM have conducted themselves with enthusiastic and appropriate journalistic diligence, then far be it for me to attempt to change their views.  I suggest that you expand your horizons though.

 

Don't confuse my frustration in parallel with your own opinionated arrogance.

Any positive news on the classes performance against other assets is always accompanied by a reference to problem, dud, ill performing, etc...  (choose any euphemism, the picture is not hard to draw).  Find me any australian press clipping over the last 10 years on this project that is not including any of the above or other euphemisms and as an ex south australian I will go and find some poor unfortunate crow to feast upon.

 

 

Anyway, getting involved in some Quixotic debate with you about my failings at character level as opposed to a spectacular inability for the media to demonstrate accuracy and balance seems to be beyond the province of whats actually wrong with theaustralian broadsheet press.

 

I am happy for you to walk away smug in your own superiority about my intemperant behaviour and that the australian broadsheet press cohort are doing a damn fine job in keeping the australiam public accurately informed.

 

BTW, "Classic GF" is to actually ignore some of the more enthusiastic opinions and just let them have their day in the sun (as well all can do in the virtual theatre of debate).  There is an expression about what mice do if elephants are charging....

 

 

oops phat finger attack

 

intemperant = intemperate...

Without going into details, there is no shortage of US, UK, French, Sth Korean, Singaporean and German submariners who are curious as to why the broadsheets are so hostile to what is seen as a very very capable asset.

 

If you are on DTI's subscription list then watch for next months release.  There will be an article on Collins and "son of".

 

Contrary to a possible misconception, not all journos are pariahs in my little world, and I actually have a small cohort that I keep in touch with. 

 

There have been intermettent articles in Proceedings, Naval Sub League and Undersea Warfare (all US publications) that have not been shy on praising the Collins project and compared its cost effectiveness against other sub projects that have been built by "historical knowledge" entities.

 

If you go to any international UDT event, there is no shortage of manufacturers lined up with photos of Collins and the fact that the're kitted using their gear.  Manufacturers are in the habit of promoting their gear via tarnished or sub-standard (NPI) platforms.

 

Collins, Seawolf/Virginia and the 21nn's are always advertising queens....  Some swedish companies in the past were also keen to show side by side shots of Collins and Gotland (same bloke, different smaller haircut!)  Some cheek in that, but therein lies the power of associative branding...

 

 

should have read:

 Manufacturers are not in the habit of promoting their gear via tarnished or sub-standard (NPI) platforms.

Collins sig management technology has been migrated to 3 other Navies submarines, and has been compared and assessed against far more expensive and sophisticated versions on some our friends nukes (and yes we have more than one nuke friend).

 

Not bad for a country where we don't talk about our successes because we can't get local support .....  Like a few other technologies we've developed, they end up with more customers off shore and compete against other solutions that sometimes are literally 30 times more expensive  - and not necessarily 30 times more effective....

 

... do you like your crow roasted or deep-fried? Heres an article that is unambiguously positive about the CC's.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22370971-31477,00.html

 

You might also like to browse this search of "The Australian's" news archive. I think you'll find that there are many positive comments, if you choose to stop looking through the prism of your prejudice that is.

searchresults.news.com.au/Search.action?site=theaustralian&searchoption=yes&queryterm=collins%20class&pageidx=2

much ado about nothing.

I guess I take great umbrage at broadsheet journos who make the effort to ask defence industry personnel and defence journalists specific questions (why ask and then ignore industry journalists who do actually have a greater in depth appreciation of the topic if you have no intention of using at least some of it?) They have been and often are given privileged info but then seek to promote the original and often flawed material that they have either edited or their sub editors have mangled. 

 

No offence, you may have once lusted to been a journo, but I have actually had to deal with them across various sectors, both public and private.  I still have contact with specialist journos, and admittedly there are fewer hacks than the broadsheets, but any contact is at least better than engaging in some form of quixotic defence based on your view of them serving a higher and somewhat noble ideal of delivering a balanced (and by association) unimpeachable assessment of issues without the taint of their own colour, movement and bias.  You miss the point by a golden mile when you state that my "grief" seems to be triggered by reporting negative issues - it's not.  I'm not that naive, my point is when they have been provided with other material (and not from Govt, Defence or even ASC) and yet still elect to run with the lead and bleed. You seem to think that the Pravda/Debka/Hindu Times/Daily Mirror/Adelaide Advertiser/Herald/SMH approach to selective research is acceptable.  I don't.

 

bought mine today and my Dymocks card provided a sizable discount. :)

 

BTW I was around when 3, 4 and 5 were in the shed.  I had a different involvement in 97 as I was running my own company whilst still working for Her Majesty (written prior approval of course) and sold a Simulation System to one of the combat development teams out at Russell in the good old pre-GST days when tax-ex was actually worth something! (don't know how that fits in with your timelines).  I had a "third" involvement with the sig management solution - which as you know has ended up in some very different climates and on some very different platforms......

 

it's good to see these boats finally getting a more neutral and balanced portrayal - I've even had some mates in the USN sending congratulatory notes that this book is available to the general public.

 

when you look at some of the ferk ups that the americans, russians, poms, french and germans have had recently with major ship building CAPEX progs, it brings the overall procurement, through life cost and capability into a somewhat clearer perspective....