Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Hayden Ricketts: Retired Lieutenant Colonel on the Government's new $12 billion defence spending plan

Transcript

Hayden Ricketts: Retired Lieutenant Colonel on the Government's new $12 billion defence spending plan · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: The government has announced a massive twelve billion dollar investment
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: in defense over the next four years. Nine billion of
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: it is completely new, with a plan to live defense
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: spending to more than two percent of GDP in the
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: next eight years. It comes as we've seen all this
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: activity from China. They've launched it into ballistic missile in
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: the Pacific last year, hastling the Jetstar planes. We had
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: three Chinese warships sailing off the coast of Sydney a
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: couple of months ago. So retired Lieutenant Colonel Hayden Ricketts
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: joins me, good morarding to your Hayden.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Andrew, how are you?
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: I'm good. This is a record spend and it's overdue,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: isn't it.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I think it is. I'd congratulate the government on what
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: is really a step change for defense spending over the
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: past thirty five years or sorry, twelve billion dollar commitment
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: to increase spending over the next four years. It's absolutely massive.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: But our observation around the whole plane is that it's
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: great to see some new ten some new ships for
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: AVC aircraft Reeforce, and some armored vehicles and things for
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: for army. But what this misses the mark on is
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: as the people component parts holiness was identified as a
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: really contributing factor in the sinking of the moneymnui and
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: I don't see. We're in the Defense Capability Plan. The
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: link between that holiness and how the DCP is going
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: to address the gaps and the key skills and trades
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: and the defense walls at.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: The moment, indeed, is it it reported that in fact,
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: the Defense Force is going through a major restructure right
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: now because of the attack on government spending, and so
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: there are in fact hundreds of people being laid off,
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: but they're in the middle of a process right now,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: so their morale is already low, but now they're being told, actually,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: now you're getting more money. So it's a confusing situation,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: it is.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: I think it's a really good signal that the government
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: is sending to our international allowers and our partners. I
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: think that you might have seen the little graph that
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: they come up with the pressure release, and for your listeners,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: it's a graph sort of between nineteen eighty showing spending
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: decreasing from three percent of GDP down to one percent,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: so at the moment and then almost like a complete
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: u tune back up to two percents over east eight years.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: That graph is going to brief beautifully capitals all around
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the world and especially in the White House. But I think,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: in realistic terms, can the government afford to do this?
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: I'm not convinced. Cynically. We've seen twenty billion dollars invested
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: or stated investment in twenty sixteen in the DCP, another
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: fourteen million, sorry, fourteen billion in defense and DCP nineteen
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: and now another signal of a huge investment. But these
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: investments get promised, but they don't get delivered on.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: But here's the other thing. I mean, you're talking the money,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: but it's not about the money.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: It's the kit.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: And if you buy the wrong kit, you can waste
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: that money really quickly. I talked about the light armored
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: vehicles that hen Clark bought for un piece work when
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: really a lot of people at the time argued, maybe
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: you should be buying a boat.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Well, you're right. So Army has got a lot of
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: those light armored vehicles that are not being cruised. Some
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: of the new bush Masters have bought a lot of
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: those vehicles that are still not being fully utilized. Navy
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Scot's ships tied up despite the factor of the loss
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: of the money, Anon, and I think air Force has
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: got more aircraft at the moment that they can comfortably crewe.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: A commitment spend more money on more gear is great,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: but without the personnel component part of that to support
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: it in behind, the whole plan just sort of starts
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: to fall apart.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Hayden, Rickards, I thank you for your service, and I
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: thank you for your time this morning. That is Hayden
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: here is retarded Lieutenant Colonel.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: to News Talks at B from five am weekdays, or
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio