Australia - Future Jobs

[navibrator]

Saw this - BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Australia outlines military plans (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8030292.stm)

Makes you feel good to see some additional money being put into defence.

[Wiley]

Unfortunately, navibrator, only a page and half of the 200+ page report alludes (very, VERY vaguely) to where they're going to find the money. This smacks too much of grandiose posturing - telling the Great Unwashed what wonderful things Our Kev and his gummit are planning to do rather than what they're actually going to achieve.

Stand by for a series of not so highly publicised (if publicised at all) 'adjustments' to this grand Defence spending plan. Or the purchase of the glossy kit and then no money to operate it, train the crews, maintain it or allow it to be used operationally.

Edited to add that I had an "EK407 moment" in the original post - the document is 140 pages, thus "+100 pages", not '2'.

[GreenKnight121]

The vast majority of the spending that is not already contracted for won't have to be contracted for another 10 years... so most of this is just a PR document, not firm commitments.

[Arm out the window]

Also not so inspiring to hear the minister say billions will be found by cutting out 'wasteful management' in the system - these same sentiments have been expressed and supposedly followed up a number of times over the past 10 or 20 years with the so-called 'fat' being trimmed; how much more blood can be squeezed out of the same stone?

If cutting personnel numbers is what he means by that, sure, each position gone is one person's worth of wages, equipment and support services 'saved' (although not directly proportional, as the services must still be available to those who are left), but as far as I can see there's not that much around you could chop and still get things done properly.

What's he planning to cut, I wonder?

[rjtjrt]

I heard a journalist saying the efficiencies will come from cutting civilian contractor jobs. Their point was in last cost cutting/efficiency drive there was a lot of outsourcing to contractors/consultants, and the payment of consultants is now perceived as too expensive.
So in this current cost cutting they will have to get rid of consultants and bring it all in house again to save money!
Can anyone see the lack of logic in this revolving door.
The whole white paper appears to be a nonsence. A giant wish list/publicity stunt way out in the never-never.
We are being treated like mushrooms by an incompetent/amateur Government.

[GreenKnight121]

Originally the move to civilian contractors eliminated dedicated uniformed support personnel.

The elimination of civilian contractors will not bring them back, but will use "non-essential personnel" from other areas to perform support tasks.

Meaning that anyone not actively involved in an operational mission will be subject to reassignment to lawn-cutting, mess duty, laundry work, building-painting, etc.

This will reduce the amount of training they get, which will also save more money.

Who give$ a $h!t that the troop$ will not be proficient in their a$$igned dutie$... $aving money i$ the prime mi$$ion under the current Aussie "government".

[Captain Sand Dune]

At first take I am pleasantly surpirised that a Labour government is not slashing the Defence budget in keeping with usual Labour form.
However as usual the devil will be in the detail. $20 billion savings over 10 years is interesting. I reckon they can start by cutting air travel by senior ADF officers. But I guess that would send QF broke.
Then they can start looking at the numbers of ADF officers above COL (E) rank.....

[Load Gone...Red On]

Captain Sand Dune,

"I reckon they can start by cutting air travel by senior ADF officers."

Maybe that is why they are buying new Kingair 350s to be used for ALS and other such niff naff...? Also, I think it will be concievable in the near future that all international travel will be economy class instead of the RAAF standard business class?