OneSKY-CMATS Projects of Concern summit

[AnotherFSO]

https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/media-releases/2023-12-08/civil-military-air-traffic-management-system-projects-concern-summit

8 December 2023

A Projects of Concern summit was held today on the Civil Military Air Traffic Management System (OneSKY-CMATS) project.

The summit agreed to finalise a contract change proposal and an integrated master schedule for the project by early 2024.

The Albanese Government is committed to convening regular summits in order to remediate challenging Defence projects.

The summit was attended by the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Catherine King MP, defence industry representatives, and officials from Airservices Australia and the Department of Defence.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

“I am pleased there has been significant progress on delivering the remediation plan for the OneSKY-CMATS air traffic management project.

“Ministerial engagement through Projects of Concern summits is proving to be an effective way of motivating stakeholders to resolve complex issues.

“This is the fourth Projects of Concern summit held by the Albanese Government, demonstrating our commitment to working with industry to get defence projects back on track.”

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Catherine King MP:

“I thank officials from Airservices and Defence and all other representatives for their work today in discussing the Civil Military Air Traffic Management System project. Top-level focus is essential to ensure we can remediate areas of deficiency.

“There have been considerable efforts over the past 12 months to develop a robust remediation plan to get this project back on track. The Government is confident this project will deliver a key capability system to Defence.”

[10JQKA]

From a Feb 2018 news item....

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/defence-airservices-finally-sign-12bn-contract-for-onesky-485875

"Defence last year pushed back its expected timeline, forecasting that initial operational capability could be achieved by November 2022, and final operational capability by October 2025.

When the CMATS project commenced in 2010, both agencies thought the system would reach final operational capability in 2017-18"

[Gne]

And in 1993 a joint Defence (then) CAA working group determined it was too difficult to move ahead with a joint system so TAAATS and ADATS went separate paths. Perhaps it's still too difficult.

Gne

[Lead Balloon]

One only had to look at the one page diagram of the contracting model to see that:

1. The model was a recipe for the contractor to 'divide and conquer' Defence and Airservices, and to milk them for millions along the way.

2. The model would doom the project to failure.

[missy]

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Catherine King MP:
“There have been considerable efforts over the past 12 months to develop a robust remediation plan to get this project back on track. The Government is confident this project will deliver a key capability system to Defence.”
So the Minister for Airservices says "...this project will silver a key capability system to Defence". Telling, very telling. Nothing for the billions of $$ squandered by AsA. Civil Military Air Traffic Management System (OneSKY-CMATS) is reported to be $4.1b, probably much more and rising. Current staffing is in crisis, let alone the testing and training required for the OneSKY-CMATS. IMHO a poorly conceived and executed project. Nothing aspirational about the project. Quantum leap in technology - nope. Safer skies - probably not.

[10JQKA]

All it really does is make any future privatisation or sell off ideas redundant I guess ?
May as well go back to the one big federal department, how can a user pays system work when it is intertwined in Defence requirements ?