Chance for Defence to do a power of good:
I would like to ask the powers that be why the Air Force is not using solar power to heat hot water in living blocks as well as various other buildings on an Air Force base. I have been posted to Amberley since September and to my dismay have not seen a greener Air Force in regards to saving the environment and using less electricity. There seems to be new buildings going up all the time and as yet there seems to be little to no effort to support the green initiative and use less power and therefore less resources.
This begs the question of who signs a contract for new buildings and other areas without giving a thought to supporting the environment using a sustainable resource with no damage to the environment. We can not only look at hot water heating; we can also look at street lights, solar power generation and various other initiatives to help the environment.

• FSGT T. W. Devine
  Course Director
  PSSTF RAAFSFS.

Official response:
Your reader raises a valid point that improvements in energy use and building management practices are extremely important with respect to their associated environmental impacts. As the largest government consumer of energy and property holder within the Commonwealth, the Department of Defence is acutely aware that it needs to maximise energy efficiency and minimise its impact on the environment.

Commonwealth Energy Policy set energy performance targets for Defence in 1999 that have to be achieved by June 2003.
In response, Defence established the Defence Energy Efficiency Program (DEEP), a $25 million program over three years, to implement energy conservation measures such as energy-efficient hot water systems, water-flow restrictors to shower heads and timer controls on lighting, heating and air-conditioning units, among others, in our existing buildings.

The focus of DEEP has been on the 43 major energy consuming Defence sites to get our energy consumption down. In some areas more innovative solutions have been trialled such as the installation of solar panels at HMAS Stirling training facilities as supplementary heating, and similar panels are being assessed for street lighting upgrades at RAAF Base Amberley. This type of technology is still developing globally, and being implemented by the Department where most efficient and cost effective.

Also under DEEP, regional energy managers have been appointed to address the particular energy needs on sites and work with staff to ensure all understand how they can contribute to reducing Defence’s energy consumption.

Defence has learned from implementing the DEEP program. Infrastructure Division has reviewed its approach to the construction of facilities. We are shifting from a short-term focus to a “whole-of-life” approach to construction. As such, we will take account of the anticipated maintenance liability for the facility, the likely operating costs and the expected impact on the environment. This is also known as the inclusion of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles. This approach is being formalised through Defence’s suite of construction and maintenance contracts where performance in this area will become a contract deliverable. This approach is being used for all Defence construction and RAAF Bases Williamtown and Amberley are two specific sites where ESD principles are being incorporated into planned works for existing and new facilities.

Defence is committed to reducing our energy consumption, our greenhouse gas emissions and our operating costs. We want to develop and operate our facilities in a manner which has minimal impact on staff and provides a quality working environment. In an effort to plug in to best practice approaches around the world, Defence recently became a foundation board member of the Green Building Council of Australia.

More information can be obtained on the Defence intranet by selecting the Infrastructure Division homepage.

• Greg Weichard
  Director Environmental Programs
  Infrastructure Division
  Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group.

Call to donate water proceeds to farmers
THERE has been a lot of media coverage recently on how much the country is deprived of water. Some states already have water restrictions with many others soon to follow.
With Defence Housing levying all occupants fortnightly for excess water, the question begs to be asked, “Where is (or will) the extra revenue from excess water charges (be) going?” A good destination would be to offer it to the farmers appeal on behalf of Defence members.

• WOFF Ray Bennell
  DD-SA3, AFHQ.

  Official response:
  The Directorate of Housing Policy has received a number of inquiries about “excess water charges” in this time of widespread water restrictions, as covered in an article on Page 7. Assistant Director of Housing Policy Peter Redston advises that the amount collected goes to pay the actual costs of the water consumption in service residences and it cannot be offered to the farmers appeal on behalf of Defence members in Defence Housing.

• H. J. Grant
  Campbell, ACT.

  Official response:
  The RAAF Memorial Redevelopment Committee thanks Mr H. J. Grant for his comments and is particularly pleased that he views the additions to the RAAF Memorial as a “first-class enhancement”. The redevelopment committee did not believe it appropriate that any names be engraved on the new memorial walls. Indeed, the normal convention of an artist signing his work has not been followed and even Robert Boynes’ name is not included. The committee considered that the appropriate place to acknowledge the artists, Robert Boynes and Inge King, and John Gillespie Magee’s poem was on the interpretive plaque, which is an integral element of the RAAF Memorial site. Similar plaques are mounted at all the memorials on Anzac Parade.
  Mr Grant also raises a concern about the size of the typeface on the interpretive plaque. The font size used for the lettering on this plaque is, in fact, slightly larger than that used on the dedication plaque, which he states is “legible”. The major difference is that the dedication plaque uses primarily upper case lettering, while the interpretive plaque uses lower case. The same size lettering is used on all the interpretive plaques mounted at the memorials on Anzac Parade.

• WGCDR Keith Brent
  Secretary
  RAAF Memorial Redevelopment Committee

ID card does not guarantee access
AFTER retiring from the Air Force after 35 years’ service I was issued with a Retired Member’s ID. I was always under the impression that the purpose of this ID was to allow me to enter any Air Force base to visit the mess and keep up the contact with an organisation which had been part of my life for so many years. At RAAF Base Williams this is the case. However, recently I had cause to visit RAAF Base Edinburgh on business for my company and was advised by the Chubb guard on the front gate that my Retired Member’s ID was worth nothing. It was merely a picture ID and gave me no more right of entry than any other member of the public.
If this is truly the case then I see really no point in the issue of these cards. This is certainly not the way equivalent cards are treated in the USA or UK. Could I please have clarification of the status of Retired Member’s IDs as I am sure many retired members are also concerned about this issue.

• WGCDR K.E. Knight (ret’d)
  Lara, Victoria

  Official response:
  The Retired Member’s ID Card is a recognised ADF ID Card. It is issued to members who have separated from the service and who are classified as long-term members for resettlement benefits. The card is designed only to identify eligible members as such. Current ADF policy is that the ADF ID Card is not an automatic means of accessing Defence establishments. While the ID Card may be compatible with existing access control systems at some establishments, the acceptability of using the card in this manner is at the discretion of the unit commander. The use of a Retired Member’s ID Card to access an Air Force base on business is clearly inappropriate. However, the ID card may be an acceptable form of identification for the issue of an access/base pass. Acceptance of the card for access to messes, clubs or other on-base areas remains at the discretion of individual base commanders and local arrangements are to apply.

• WGCDR C.J. Osborn
  Director Security and Policing-Air Force
  

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