Our Armed Forces Minister, Nick Harvey MP, was in Canberra and Sydney this week. He had a series of meetings with the Defence Department Ministerial team – Stephen Smith, Warren Snowdon and Jason Clare, and met a very broad range of senior officials and military officers.
There was much to talk about. The Minister and his interlocutors discussed the changing global security situation, and specific areas of operation like Afghanistan. They also talked about the challenges that all defence forces face, in strategic reform and budgetary management. They agreed that there should be plenty of opportunities for us to collaborate more closely in the development of new equipment and systems, so that we can both benefit from more cost effective procurement. On 13 December the former Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Largs Bay which the Australian Navy has bought from the UK, will be re-commissioned in Fremantle as the HMAS Choules – named after Australia’s very last Digger from the First World War, who sadly passed away earlier this year aged 110.
One of the most interesting new challenges is in the area of Cyber security. The Minister gave a fascinating speech on Cyber Warfare to members of the Kokoda Institute and answered questions about it on the ABC’s breakfast news.
I was counting up and realised that this was the tenth British ministerial visit since I arrived here in January. A significant increase over previous years, and a real symbol of the greater emphasis which the British government is placing on our already very close relationship.