Serious Problems In Defence
The recent furore on defence capability issues shows New Zealanders remain concerned and interested in how well our
Defence Force can meet the nation's needs.
The recent Herald front page story on the problems in defence certainly generated letters and e-mails to me. When the
Defence Force says it is unable to meet the objectives set by government (n conjunction with Defence), there clearly are
serious problems.
The Chiefs have their say
Last Thursday the Chief of Defence Force and Secretary of Defence appeared before the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade
Select Committee. They were there as a result of the Auditor-General's report on Defence Acquisitions and to answer
questions about the UN Housing Allowance Court of Inquiry.
Answering the Auditor-General
The first issue, the Auditor-General's report, dealt with how well Defence is performing. This Report was the most
damning I have seen since I have been in Parliament. The Auditor-General said he could not finish the audit, because key
material simply did not exist. You would think that Defence would act promptly to rectify the problem. Instead, both the
Chief of Defence and the Secretary of Defence wrote to the Select Committee implying the problem was not really as
serious as the Auditor-General considered, saying "high degrees of accuracy in the early stages are neither possible nor
necessary".
Yes Minister
It was a classic piece of "Yes Minister"; assuring members of the Select Committee that of course everything was in hand
and going to plan. The National MPs on the Committee, (Murray McCully, Tim Groser, John Hayes and myself), were not
impressed. For instance, the Secretary said that if more accuracy on estimates was needed, more money was needed.
NH90 blowout
This was in respect of the NH90 helicopter contract originally estimated to be between $400 and $500 million, but
ultimately costing nearly $800 million. The scale of the blowout was so large that a better estimate of the actual cost
may well have resulted in a different choice of helicopter. The importance of good estimates seemed entirely lost on the
officials.
This will not do. National is determined that military procurement must be improved. It is one of the problems
highlighted by the Annual Report and the Auditor-General. If the Defence Force is to have a better chance of achieving
their requirements, they will have to radically improve the procurement process.
HMNZS CANTERBURY REPORT
As if to confirm the problems, the report on the Safety and Functionality of HMNZS Canterbury came out on Friday. Among
the conclusions were the following:
* Some operating limitations will have to be accepted. Sea keeping performance is likely to be poor in high sea states
* There was insufficient appreciation of the constraints of a commercial roll on/roll off design
* The complexity and challenge of the project has been underestimated in all respects
* There have been significant shortcomings in the governance of the acquisition.
Bad design
These issues are set out in more detail in the report. On the design, it was stated "Even a cursory examination of the
design and operating profile should have raised questions over her suitability for long operational patrols in the South
Pacific".
The review also said "there was insufficient technical expertise in the project team to fully comprehend some of the key
design issues". The attitude of the team was to "crack on come what may".
Lack of project skills
The review specifically states "The project team lacked the size and range of skills to manage a project of the
complexity of HMNZS Canterbury". The effect is that the MRV will only be able to lower the landing craft from the upper
deck, and to unload equipment in very calm seas.
Labour's failure
The report as a whole is a sustained criticism of how Defence acquired Canterbury for the Navy. Of course, the
government failure at the heart of the problem was the determination of the government to get an MRV on an unrealistic
budget "come what may". The way the decisions were made is ultimately a reflection of the way government ministers were
driving the project.
National's warnings not heeded
National MPs, at the time the project was being evaluated, warned the government of the risks of a one-off design. There
were well known proven multirole vessels available. These had proven design, with the landing craft being carried inside
the ship with a special internal dock. This system means the ships can be operated in quite a wide range of sea states.
All of this was known to the Government and the Navy.
Instead, we have a one-off design with inherent limitations. The Navy now simply has to make do, knowing it has a ship
that can only be operated in a limited range of conditions.
Sorting it out
National has said that there must be a radical overhaul of defence procurement. We can't afford these sorts of mistakes
in the future. It would be a priority for a National government to get procurement right so that our defence force has
the right equipment to do the job.
OUT AND ABOUT
On Friday I went to Major Bob Pope's funeral in Devonport. Bob passed away peacefully earlier this week, aged 91. Born
in Stanley Bay in 1917, Bob was educated at Kings College.
He served in Italy during the Second World War. Many a discussion with Bob started off with a reminder to speak up,
because his hearing had been damaged at Casino.
Bob was a colourful Shore character, passionate about his community and holding people to account. Many will say, "he
had a good innings".
15 September 2008
ENDS