Defence

Wordsmith

A high achieving 2006

Ric Smith, Secretary

As we approach the end of the year and the time of my retirement draws closer, I thought it might be useful to reflect on some of the major themes for us all over the past 12 months. This has been a big year for all of Defence. We have sustained a high level of operational tempo which has affected the whole organisation and, at the same time, made some significant and very positive changes across the organisation.

So at the end of another year, I'd like to reflect on some of the excellent work you have done and how far we have come. Many of you were also involved in organisational change this year, and this is starting to pay dividends for Defence. I believe the changes we made in July are already seeing positive effects and are critical to our future productivity and ability to serve Government more effectively.

We have built a stronger core to our organisation, with the creation of the Australian Defence Headquarters (ADHQ) and the amalgamation of corporate support functions including governance, budgeting, accounting, financial management and contracting functions. We still have a way to go in locking down some of the processes and practices to more closely integrate these functions, but the steps taken so far have been promising in terms of service delivery to Ministers and Government.

Financial year 2005-06 saw a remarkable effort from all Groups and the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) to remediate our financial statements. This has been a priority for me over recent years, and thanks to a highly committed and professional team in the Chief Finance Office (CFO) and DMO we have made very significant progress in both our annual statements and financial management reform. I want to personally thank the CFO and his team, and the DMO team, for their outstanding efforts.

Personnel Executive has also responded to the changes in the personnel business, sorting out who goes where in response to operational demands and dealing with nature of service issues. The introduction of the new Defence Collective Agreement was a significant achievement, and I must also recognise the excellent work over the past year of the Defence Community Organisation, which continues to provide support to Defence families who are also impacted by our high operational tempo.

Many of you are now working within the newly formed Defence Support Group (DSG) that was created to further consolidate shared service provision responsibilities across the organisation. Rather than a 're-branded Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group', under the leadership of Martin Bowles as Deputy Secretary DSG, the Group is developing into a new entity in its own right, with a theme of mutual responsibility/partnership in the way it works with its customers and stakeholders across Australia.

As a component of the DSG, I particularly also want to recognise the work of Defence Legal, an organisation that achieves an enormous amount and which has responded superbly to the challenges of the past year as we've moved into new and more demanding areas in international operations.

I would also like to acknowledge DSG's work in the area of facilities, where we've made substantial and necessary additional investment. Their work is generally not seen at the forefront of things, but they have achieved some tremendous results in capital facilities and operations maintenance that will benefit us all.

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) is another part of Defence that has changed. This year, for the first time, its mission statement refers to DSTO's role in support of national security interests rather than just the interests of Defence. Its important contribution to Defence has not diminished - indeed, it has grown in response to the very specific role it was accorded by the Kinnaird review - but its contribution to Australia's national effort has grown and been recognised.

Significant management change has been achieved in our procurement and sustainment business, that is, the business done by DMO. There is now a strong focus on rapid acquisitions and on the sustainment and refurbishment of equipment returning from operations. An enormous amount of change has been achieved - in process and machinery, in business methods and acumen, and in culture.

The Intelligence Agencies are heavily focussed on support for military operations and their roles as part of the national security effort have continued to evolve. The Flood Report in 2004 recognised these trends and the Government's response to its recommendations consolidated them. We list the full implementation of Flood as one of our achievements over the last two years but, in fact, it was made easier by the fact that we were already heading in all the directions he pointed to.

In talking about achievements, I must mention again our operations - after all, that's what we're all about and that's what we do so well. The operations have been challenging militarily and also in policy terms, but we have continued to make available to Government options for the deployment of forces which have been well led, well trained and fully aligned with Australian policy interests.

These changes go a long way to promoting Defence as a more efficient, better coordinated department for the future. It is possible that in the coming years even more will be demanded from us as an organisation. Additionally, in the current climate of ever increasing operational tempo, the need for greater numbers of personnel, a more professional and well-skilled and trained workforce, and higher and more strenuous financial accountability frameworks, these changes are on the way to standing us in good stead for the coming years.

As I approach my retirement I would like to offer my thanks for your commitment and support over the past four years. I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with so many fine colleagues in Defence, and consider that we have achieved a great deal. I wish you all well as you welcome Nick Warner as the new Secretary to take you forward to meet the challenges of the future.

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