Coordination and Public Affairs
Chief of Staff Australian Defence Headquarters/Head Coordination and Public Affairs, Mr Peter Jennings, is responsible for the provision of ministerial and parliamentary coordination, public affairs, and governance services to Defence.
Overview
As Chief of Staff Australian Defence Headquarters, I am responsible equally and directly to the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force. Assisted by the Coordination and Public Affairs (CPA) Division, I have a coordinating function across the higher Defence structure to support the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force in the effective management and presentation of the Defence organisation.
With the change of Minister in January, increasing demands for reporting to parliamentary committees, the build-up to establishing the new Australian Defence headquarters (ADHQ) and Defence Coordination Centre and the consequent restructuring, it has been a very busy year for CPA Division. This realignment of the division has resulted in more effective and responsive cross-organisation coordination in support of the Secretary and CDF.
During the latter part of 2005–06, a great deal of effort in CPA was focused on Defence reform, leading to the establishment of the new ADHQ and the creation of the Defence Coordination Centre, to handle issues management, from 1 July 2006. This reform program was announced by the Secretary and CDF in February 2006. I am pleased to report that the project proceeded well, and the new ADHQ was operational by the scheduled date of 1 July 2006.
The success of the reorganisation and the commitment of the CPA staff is shown in the successful coordination and issues management undertaken by the division. This included coordinating whole-of-Defence strategies for responding to issues such as the Sea King and Kovco Boards of Inquiry. Complex issues such as these require a rapid, coordinated response. We have also used these skills in coordinating internal issues, such as corporate governance and, with the standing up of the new ADHQ, corporate management as well.
The increased coordination workload CPA undertakes is highlighted nowhere better than in our responsiveness to Ministers and Parliament. Over 2005–06, we provided the Ministers with almost 11,000 submissions, briefs, and pieces of correspondence. Ministerial and parliamentary time frames are often tight and inflexible, so it is a great achievement that Defence responds to the large majority of these on time and to a high standard. Without this support, our Ministers would not be able to perform their own roles efficiently and effectively.
Key Achievements for 2005–06
During 2005–06, CPA Division:
- provided, through the 1st Joint Public Affairs Unit, deployed public affairs support to ADF operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Pakistan, as well as to the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and cyclone assistance at Innisfail, Queensland. Tactical public affairs support was also provided to 18 major ADF combined/joint exercises and events. In recognition of its support to over 20 significant ADF operations since it was formed in 2002, the unit was awarded a Chief of the Defence Force commendation;
- undertook 2,200 imagery tasks, processing 40,000 new still images and digitally archiving 5,000 historic images. In addition, 49.5 hours of vision of Defence activities was processed, with 67 Defence video news releases, 70 compiles and 79 web videos being issued;
- fielded 5,908 media inquiries and issued 1,465 media releases and alerts in support of Ministerial and departmental announcements, media launches, events and in response to emerging issues. In addition, we responded to more than 700 direct inquiries from the public;
- produced 69 issues of the Navy, Army and Air Force newspapers, distributing a total of 1.57 million copies to Defence members and subscribers. In addition, there were 2,833,486 visits to the Service newspapers' Internet sites with nearly 11 million page views;
- produced 11 editions of the official Defence magazine – distributing 132,000 copies (12,000 per month) to Defence personnel and subscribers;
- continued to expand the Results through People philosophy, which seeks to create an organisational climate in which people can do their best, by delivering 62 workshops to all regions and many workplaces across Australia. This is an increase of 15 workshops from last year; and
- managed a high volume of ministerial correspondence coming into Defence from the Ministers' offices, coordinated the briefing and attendance requirements of senior Defence officials at numerous parliamentary committee hearings (including three Senate Estimates hearings), and coordinated the publication and tabling of Defence's primary statutory documents