Former Defence chief sceptical of Coalition's plan to use military commander to combat people smugglers

Extract from ABC News Website:

Updated 5 hours 28 minutes ago

Former Defence Force chief Chris Barrie does not think the Coalition's plan to use a military commander to combat people smuggling will make much more than an "incremental" difference.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott yesterday released the Operation Sovereign Borders plan, which would see a senior military officer put in charge of securing Australia's borders.
The three-star commander would have the powers to bypass normal Defence command structures, and would report directly to the immigration minister.
But Mr Barrie says a two-star admiral already coordinates border protection, and the Coalition's policy amounts to little more than a pay rise.
"We're going to pay someone a little bit more to do a similar job. It doesn't sound to me like a way of solving this problem," he told PM.
"How will a three-star appointment of this nature improve things when we've got a two-star admiral already assigned in border protection command, and a different agency and slightly different responsibilities?

Mr Barrie says the Coalition's policy will also involve the Australian Federal Police, but the border control response "is not going to change because we've change things in Canberra".
"This is all happening out near Christmas Island, it's not happening in Canberra."
"Looking at trying to resolve this problem by improving coordination in Canberra might make an incremental difference, but I don't think it's going to make a huge difference - certainly not along the lines which are outlined in the policy statement that has been issued."
Australian Defence Association executive director Neil James has also questioned the plan.

He says there are concerns about putting the military at the forefront of a civil law enforcement issue.
"We tend to use the military for short-tem help to the government in emergencies," he said.
"Whether this is an emergency or not is a party political dispute, we're not going to get involved in it, but even if it was an emergency you would only use a military officer for the shortest term possible, not on a permanent basis."
Mr James says many retired senior military officers are "puzzled" by the suggestion of appointing a military commander for the Coalition's taskforce.
"I think the plan is mostly workable but there are bits that haven't been thought through well enough," he said.
"It's certainly a national security problem - whether it's a Defence problem is a separate argument," he said.

Where do the parties stand on asylum seekers?

"Whether it's an emergency is also, to a large extent, a party political argument and as a bipartisan organisation, we are not going to say one way or the other.
"It's an unusual situation the country is facing at the moment."
Mr James says the requirement that the military commander be of a three-star rank would not be possible because there are only six people who fit that profile in Australia and they are all "very busy".

"The heads of the Navy, Army and Air Force and two other people [have a three-star rank]. It would have to be someone else," he said.