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Nelson stands by fighter jet decision 15 Mar 2007 Reporter: Mark Bannerman, Australian Broadcasting Corporation | TV Broadcast
7.30 Report - 15/03/2007: Nelson stands by fighter jet decision
"KERRY O'BRIEN: Welcome to the program. When the Government announced it would be spending $6 billion to buy
24 new fighter bombers [Super Hornets] last week, the defence establishment might have been expected to applaud. But, if there was applause, it was seriously muted. The criticism wasn't. The Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, has come under sustained fire from a wide range of experts, including two former senior Air Force officers, who say the billions will be wasted on a poorly performed plane to fill a capability gap that isn't there. Now Mr Nelson is fighting back, saying it's a sound decision, for which he takes full responsibility. Mark Bannerman reports.
MARK BANNERMAN: It's sleek, it's fast. It's called the Super Hornet. And, if you believe the Government, it's the answer to our immediate strategic air needs.
BRENDAN NELSON, DEFENCE MINISTER: The Super Hornet, the Block 2, the most advanced version of it, is a very capable, very stealthy aircraft.
RICK MCCRARY, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR, BOEING: The Super Hornet Block 2 is a breakthrough aeroplane. Rugged long-life air frame, with great handling characteristics. It's been truly enhanced. It really makes it a next generation strike fighter.
MARK BANNERMAN: But it seems not everyone loves a Hornet.
AIR VICE-MARSHAL PETER CRISS (RET.): I am absolutely astounded that we're going to spend $6 billion of the taxpayers' money on an interim aircraft.
JOEL FITZGIBBON, OPPOSITION DEFENCE SPOKESMAN: The Super Hornet purchase is a $6 billion taxpayer funded election year fix. It's a patchup job.
MARK BANNERMAN: And it's not just the price that's stunned politicians and aviation experts, it is the plane itself.
PETER CRISS: I have trouble with the word
'super' and 'hornet', perhaps I would call it
superdog or superbug, but certainly not a Super Hornet. The sting in the tail is not there.
MARK BANNERMAN: Peter Criss knows a thing or two about fighter planes and aircraft. He flew F 111s for longer than he cares to remember, and by the time he finished in the Air Force he was Air Commander Australia.
PETER CRISS: This thing will not survive in a fight now in our region - now, right now. Not another five years down the track, 10 years down the track.
It is a dog...."