As a former RAN member, he recalls the sense of frustration many felt in the early 1980s that service conditions and salaries were not keeping pace with gains being made in civilian life. It was difficult, he said, to know whether those in senior leadership positions within the ADF were genuinely committed to better salaries and improved working conditions and never easy to understand why improvements were always being delayed.

As Dr Frame’s father (an ex-Royal Navy sailor) was an organiser for the Federated Engine Drivers and Fireman’s Association (FEDFA), he was conscious of the important advocacy role played by industrial groups in the steel industry and the conspicuous absence of such independent backing for Defence Force members.

Dr Frame said the establishment of the Federation in 1984 was, in itself, an enormous achievement and a significant enhancement to the environment in which all ADF people were serving.

As he argued in one of his books Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand, had an organisation like the Federation existed in previous decades, many of the hardships endured by sailors would have been the subject of greater discussion and more likely alleviation, and not become a cause of seething discontent.

Dr Frame said he looked forward to playing his part in the life of the Federation and would be pleased to hear from any member that he might be able to assist. Be assured of his support and goodwill.