1
MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
STEPHEN SMITH, MP
QUESTION WITHOUT NOTICE
FORCE PROTECTION MEASURES
28 OCTOBER 2010
I thank the member for his question. It is one of the government’s highest priorities to
ensure that we do everything possible to protect our troops in the field in Afghanistan. This
is also one of the highest priorities of the Chief of the Defence Force and the service chiefs
generally.
The member asked me about measures which are being implemented. Members might
recall that in the May budget of this year the government announced, after a review
requested by my predecessor, Minister Faulkner, the adoption of a $1.1 billion program to
implement enhanced new force protection measures for our troops in Afghanistan. This
added to about half a billion dollars of existing measures. In the budget this year, we saw
over the financial period 2009-10 to 2012-13 $1.6 billion of enhanced measures for force
protection. Of the 48 measures announced or effected in the budget, the department and the
CDF implemented a very tight timetable, a rigorous schedule and a rigorous system of
monitoring to ensure that these measures were introduced as soon as practically possible.
There is some interest in the implementation today because, yesterday, as a result of a
number of media outlets requesting the incoming government brief from the Department of
Defence, a redacted version—in other words, with national security and sensitive matter
eliminated—was supplied to media outlets which contains a schedule of the
implementation of these measures. Of course, some time has elapsed since the presentation
of the incoming government brief. The advice I have from Defence yesterday and today is
that, of the 48 measures that were announced effectively in that budget, 36 of the 48 have
either been completed or are on track. There are 12 about which our monitoring program
has issues of concern, a couple of which go to timing. So far as timing is concerned, there
are concerns about the delayed implementation for additional protection measures for
buildings that our troops occupy or live in and some highly technical measures for the
electronic triggering of improvised devices.
Mr Speaker, as you would expect, it would not be appropriate to deal with some areas of
these matters in public. That is also reflected in the redacted nature of the decision made by
the freedom of information decision-maker. All of these matters particularly go to
enhanced anti-improvised explosive device measures—the roadside bombs that our troops
and patrols encounter, overhead surveillance, mine clearance, improved helmets and
armour, and the like.
As I said at the outset, the government and the service have no higher priority than ensuring
that every practical measure we can reasonably take is in place for the protection of our
troops. The Chief of the Defence Force has consistently made it clear, most recently at
estimates, and the government has made it clear, that these matters are under continual
review because circumstances always change. The threat is ever there; the threat is ever
present. We continue to experience both difficult and dangerous circumstances in
Afghanistan, and the techniques used by Taliban change. So these matters continue to be
under constant review.
NEWS 
