One of the more enjoyable roles of the ADM team is to visit the major defence conferences and expositions held around the country throughout the year.
Nigel Pittaway | Melbourne
Besides the obvious benefits of access to the technology on show and to be able to speak on the record with a range of subject matter experts from across Defence and industry, there are other interesting experiences to be had.
Not least of these are the chance meetings in the aisles or perhaps in the queue for refreshments, where it is possible to avoid the spin and gauge the real mood of the participants.
The Pacific 2015 Maritime Exposition, held in Sydney in early October, was no exception to this and one of the main things I brought away from the event was a sense of optimism, something that has been missing in recent times.
"Hopefully local innovators will enjoy a climate that not only recognises their capabilities but fosters them."
There should have been optimism at a maritime show where there are tens of billions of dollars worth of shipbuilding contracts up for grabs of course, but there was also a distinct impression, a tingle almost, that the recent Federal Government leadership change has changed things for the better. One senior figure at the show noted that, in his opinion, when a Prime Minister is changed the government is also changed and he was viewing the Turnbull cabinet as a completely new administration.
More than one delegate also mentioned the new Prime Minister’s enthusiasm for innovation and technology and there is a feeling that this will set the tone for the government’s agenda going forward.In my opinion one of the things Australian industry is very good at, particularly in the small to medium enterprise space, is innovation. But I understand that it has often been difficult to get the message out in the past and many an opportunity has gone by the wayside.
Hopefully this will change and the local innovators will enjoy a climate that not only recognises their capabilities but fosters them.
In addition to the optimism about the strategic direction of the Turnbull Government, cautious though it may be at this early stage, there was also enthusiasm for the government’s new defence leadership team, led by Senator Marise Payne. Senator Payne makes history as Australia’s first ever female Defence Minister and she is joined by Mal Brough as the Minister for Materiel and Science and enjoys the continued service of Darren Chester as Assistant Minister for Defence.
While I don’t wish to sound like a cheerleader for the new team, at least not just yet, I note that they were referred to as ‘fresh talent’ by one senior Defence official, who predicted that they would be supportive of the priority for innovation. In the immediate term however there is an urgent priority to deliver the White Paper and capability plan, which those of you with a long memory will recall was promised by the Abbott Government within 18 months of coming to power in 2013.
Since then Australia has had two Prime Ministers and three Defence Ministers in a period of ‘leadership churn’. This ‘revolving door’ of leadership was one of the things criticised by its own First Principles Review into Defence as being a major problem, which has historically had a negative impact on the performance of the organisation. I hope that the new team also brings a period of stability to the portfolio.
ADM has reported elsewhere that Senator Payne told a Senate Estimates hearing in October that she does not intend making any changes to the White Paper, but stopped short of predicting when the suite of documents will be released. Although both Defence and Industry are impatiently awaiting their release it is important to ensure that their contents reflect the goals and ambitions of the new administration.
Although I share the optimism voiced at Pacific 2015, I’m conscious that there is a lot of work to be done to win the confidence of Defence and Industry.
ADM’s editor Katherine Ziesing is taking a short but well-deserved break as this issue of ADM goes to press, but she will be back at the helm by the time these words appear in print. Katherine will be leading the ADM team at the MilCIS 2015 show in Canberra and I’m sure she will be interested to hear your views.