Australian governments and their defence leaders, with help from lobbyists, choose immensely complex, overpriced and overmanned weaponry. Wasteful spending has to end, writes Brian Toohey.
“Mind-boggling” waste revealed in the record rise in weapons spending – Michael West
Defence investigates itself How “independent” or effective a review is it when a department secretly investigates itself and its contractors by appointing an existing contractor to conduct the review, does not make public the review’s existence or its terms of reference, and keeps any resulting report secret?
Defence says the review found “no evidence” of inappropriate excess charges. This is despite three stories the same day in The Weekend Australian containing detailed allegations. So serious were the allegations, they were escalated up to Defence’s assistant secretary of fraud control who reportedly then referred several matters to the Independent Assurance Business Analysis and Reform Branch of Defence. Is Defence saying multiple audit and fraud officials, including at the most senior levels, all got it wrong? Are we being asked to conclude that senior Defence fraud officials cannot accurately identify inappropriate excess charges? It seems there is a serious problem then, no matter which way we look at it.
Department of Defence captured by foreign weapons makers Thales, BAE – Michael West
‘Culture of Cosiness’: colossal conflicts of interest in Defence spending blitz – Michael West
In Part 1 of her three-part investigation, Michelle Fahy investigates the corporate influence on government policy and how weapons makers cultivate relationships with politicians and top officials in the public service.
‘Culture of Cosiness’: colossal conflicts of interest in Defence spending blitz – Michael West
Peter Leahy’s wife is a director of a company awarded $38 million in contracts from federal departments, mostly Defence and Foreign Affairs and Trade. The company had earned $2.2 million in revenue from federal government contracts before Leahy resigned as Chief. Michelle Fahy investigates.
Family Ties: Defence contracts go to company linked to wife of former army chief – Michael West
Currently, less than 1% of Defence’s budget goes into its innovation funds. There’s no point investing billions in military capability if it doesn’t support Australia’s needs.
The ADF are a highly-skilled, well trained, well-resourced, mobile workforce who are being wasted on war games.
Forty-one Australian soldiers died in Afghanistan. Eighty Australians have died in the last couple of months from the coronavirus.
Perhaps old generals are not the best people to equip us for the world of the future.
via Time to rethink the purpose of the ADF – » The Australian Independent Media Network
A crime that ineffect was unsuccessful isn’t a crime according to GOP. Planning and conspiringt to spy on America isn’t a crime. Planning a Murde isn’t a crime. (ODT
It’s a reoccurring theme in the Trump story: The president tries to do something but ultimately is not effective enough to actually get it done. So, should we penalize him for those attempts? Does the attempt . . . reach that bar for Congress to remove the president?
It’s the Republicans’ biggest impeachment lie, and Americans could fall for it | Salon.com
Has anyone noted there is no mention of Vietnam in this speech in which we blindly followed the US into to fight the good war against “Communism”? China wasn’t involved in that war which we lost and drafted our young men to fight. Did we ever hear the LNP Government say sorry? They took us to Aghanistan, Iraq and Syria all at the behest of the USA. Australia has never been a committed member of our region. (ODT)
The alliance between the United States and Australia is a “mateship,” a relationship that began on the battlefields of France a century ago and continued into Afghanistan, Reynolds said. “But it is a bond that much be renewed with every generation.” in meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow.
“Today, the largest power against intimidation and terror is our armed forces,” Rouhani said at a massive military parade in Tehran.Iran has played a major role
Source: Iran is the best defence against Middle East ‘terror’: Rouhani – Your Middle East
Border Force is the contrivance of a knot of ambitious bureaucrats whose aim is to militarise Immigration.
