EDITORIAL COMMENT


Rizzo report details “wholesale institutional failures”


The Minister for Defence, The Honourable Stephen Smith, takes questions from the media after announcing the release of the Rizzo Report.


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n July, Australia’s Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and the Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare released


the Plan to Reform Support Ship Repair and Management Practices developed by Mr Paul Rizzo. Te release of the Rizzo Report* was the


next phase in a series of reforms announced by Mr Smith and Mr Clare to improve defence’s accountability, procurement and sustainment practices. Mr Rizzo led an expert team that was appointed in February to develop a plan to address significant problems in the repair, maintenance and sustainment of the Royal Australian Navy’s amphibious fleet. Tese problems included the extended


operational pause adversely affecting HMAS Manoora and HMAS Kanimbla, the early decommissioning of HMAS Manoora and the extended maintenance of HMAS Tobruk. Te appointment of the independent team


followed advice about the amphibious fleet provided by the Secretary of the Department of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Force, which made it clear that problems with the amphibious fleet had built up over a decade or more. “Many of the seeds of the problems we


now face were sown long ago,” said the Ministry of Defence. “Insufficient resources have been allocated to address materiel and personnel shortfalls since the ships were brought into service 20 years ago. Mr Rizzo’s Report confirms these conclusions.” Mr Rizzo’s team was also asked to consider


the impact of those findings on the sustain- ment of other naval vessels, in particular supply ships, and the maintenance concepts for the Air Warfare Destroyer and Landing Helicopter Dock. Te report highlights a


Warship Technology October 2011


number of critical issues that Royal Austral- ian Navy, the Defence Materiel Organization and defence as a whole must address. Te report found poor risk management


practices, a failure to manage assets on a ‘whole of life’ basis, negative aspects of a ‘can do, make do’ culture, the failure of the Royal Australian Navy and the Defence Materiel Organization to work together seamlessly, and perhaps most importantly, an overall ineffectiveness of the naval engineering function in navy and the maritime elements of the Defence Materiel Organization. Collectively, these issues have compromised the availability of Navy assets and potentially the sustainability of Royal Australian Navy ships in the longer term. Te Rizzo Report makes 24 recommen-


dations to improve operational availabil- ity and outcomes and ensure the ongoing technical integrity of Royal Australian Navy ships. “Defence fully accepts Mr Rizzo’s recommendations and the Govern- ment and Defence will implement them,” said the statement. One of the key recommendations of the


Rizzo Report is that Royal Australian Navy engineering needs to be rebuilt and reorgan- ised, led by a two star Navy Admiral to give the necessary weight to this critical function. Commodore Michael Ouzel will be promoted to this position and will lead the rebuilding of the navy engineering function. In parallel, the Defence Materiel Organi-


zation is undertaking a fundamental restructure of its amphibious and afloat support systems programme office. To strengthen this office, which is respon- sible for maintaining the Royal Austral- ian Navy’s amphibious ships, the Defence Materiel Organization will increase the


systems programme office by more than 20 new positions, with the first tranche to be advertised in the coming weeks. Te government has asked Mr Rizzo to


chair an implementation committee so that he can personally ensure that the agreed recommendations are being effectively implemented in a timely way. Mr Rizzo’s Report found that accountabil-


ity is lacking across the defence organisation in areas such as decision-making and perfor- mance management. Te Australian govern- ment is currently finalising its response to the Review of the Defence Accountability Framework conducted by Rufus Black (the Black Review). Te government’s response to the Black Review, together with the response today to Mr Rizzo’s Report, will provide a framework for greater accountability and an improved defence performance. “Te Rizzo Report has identified a clear


need for change. Te priority now is to build a new culture to reshape the way defence manages our maritime security capability,” the statement concluded. At a press conference held when the Rizzo


Report was issued, the Minister for Defence took questions from the media. He described it as “a damning report”. “Importantly, this report, and the govern-


ment’s adoption of it, and its recommen- dations, set the scene for the next wave of defence reform – the release and implemen- tation of the so-called Black review, and there is references to the Black review in Mr Rizzo’s report. I look forward to releasing the Black review in the very near future which will deal with accountability issues, both personal and institutional accountability.” WT * Te Rizzo Report is available online at http://www.defence.gov.au/rizzo-review/


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