Yesterday’s announcement that the Government’s has approved a ‘record number’ of Defence projects in 2011 is an elaborate deception.

The Government has in fact made only 4 first pass approvals so far this financial year, when they would need to make approximately 41 in 2011/12 to get back on track with the targets set in the 2009 Defence White Paper, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel, Senator Gary Humphries, said.

“First pass approvals get new projects started an... d are the best indicator of real progress. The rate of first pass approvals in the last three years has been appallingly low, but the four made so far this financial year barely scratch the surface of the problem.

“At this rate, the Government remains far behind in achieving its $275 billion White Paper wish list.

“In the last 2 financial years the Government achieved only 10 out of 29 planned first and second pass approvals.

“To offset this slow progress, the Government is disguising ‘intermediate’ decisions as first or second pass approvals.

“They are creating bureaucratic hoops for themselves to jump through to create the impression that something is happening.

“The truth is, the Government is falling further and further behind and Australia’s defence capability is being compromised.”

Major defence projects are fed through what is known as a ‘two pass’ approvals process, where the Government directly gives the project permission to proceed when strict requirements are met.

“The reality for 28,000 workers in the Defence industry is a drip feed of work mired in paperwork,” Senator Humphries said.