Defence Minister Stephen Smith has outlined to the Defence Senior Leadership Group that the culture within the department needs to change.
“Over the last 10 weeks I’ve seen suggestions or reference made to ‘One Defence’,” Smith said.
“When dealing with the Diarchy, with the Secretary and the CDF, and the CEO of the DMO, of course I’m dealing with ‘One Defence’.
“I’m not confident, however, that below the Diarchy I get a ‘One Defence’ view.
“Rather I often suspect I get a view from a silo.”
The Minister also took the opportunity to announce that Air 5418 (JASSM) has been added to the Projects of Concern list.
“We must all accept accountability for the work we do,” Smith said.
“Failures in accountability arrangements damage Defence, weaken Defence’s performance and make us less efficient and less effective.”
Next year Government will consider the Black Review into Accountability to “sharpen our accountability regime”, Smith told his audience.
Comment
Accountability has been an ongoing element in many recent Defence reviews but with the plethora of committees, steering groups and advisory boards it can be difficult to get a sense of this accountability with the Defence organisation.
One can hope that the Black Review can offer some new insights into the situation.