National Defence committee  I think this is one of the greatest problems we face. It's in the mismatch between what we know we need because of strategic circumstances evolving now, as compared with the idea of an 18-month or two-year steady drumbeat in the production of ships into the future. I cannot think

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  We have solved that problem by choosing not to have one, Mr. Fisher. The navy undertakes most of the traditional functions associated with a coast guard. There is also a much smaller level of patrol boat capability that is maintained by the navy as well, which I haven't actuall

National Defence committee  We tend not to see it that way. We have a border, which we guard very assiduously. They are now operating eight vessels, modestly armed, that can undertake civil policing tasks.

National Defence committee  No, they're quite separate. Our defence budget is pretty much what you see. It does not include veterans entitlements or pensions paid to retirees. It is dedicated to the acquisition and payment of the current force and the sustainment of its operations. That is what the defence

National Defence committee  It's a hotly argued issue. There are claims that say the premium we've paid on the air warfare destroyer has been perhaps 20% on what might have been achieved out of an American—

National Defence committee  It is a very capable ship, and it is biased toward air defence. Its most capable weapons system is a missile box launcher at the front of the vessel, which is designed to be able to shoot down a range of aircraft and missile systems. It has an upgrade capability, should the gover

National Defence committee  Yes, it is. Well, actually, that's not quite right. It potentially could be the same hull, because one of the bidders for the new frigates has been the constructor of the air warfare destroyer, which was based on the Spanish F100 design, Again, the hull is less relevant than th

National Defence committee  There would be economists who would say that's not right, but I wouldn't agree. I'm a person who is happy with the idea of the local build. In past construction, for example, with what we call the Anzac frigates—because the New Zealanders were also involved—we were able to take d

National Defence committee  Probably not the Greens, because they would not want to see this investment into these particular capabilities. Look, I think there was strong common ground for the major centre-left parties and centre-right parties to accept the idea that defence industry policy did need to be

National Defence committee  Mr. Robillard, I'm hesitant to buy into the Canadian debate, because I'm seriously not familiar enough to really understand the details and finer points about it. Let me answer your question by talking quickly about the Australian context. We have had success where there has bee

National Defence committee  It has a prehistory, of course. The group was the Defence Materiel Organisation before that. There are three key challenges, I think. One is the continued need for upskilling of the workforce within the group. We now have an organization of several thousand people who are respo

National Defence committee  No, our defence budget is now in the order of—

National Defence committee  Yes, that's this year, but if you look at the shipbuilding package I described, it's $91 billion. The last defence white paper announced $261 billion worth of new capability acquisition. With a billion dollars here and a billion dollars there, pretty soon you're talking big money

National Defence committee  Yes, I would, sir. That's critical for all modern forces. It's actually the ability to get these platforms talking to each other, sharing the same threat picture, and being able to use one platform as a way of firing and aiming weapons that might be on a second platform altogethe