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A new ASEAN-Australia Defence Postgraduate Scholarship Program is being established as one of the initiatives from the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. Defence Minister, Senator the Hon Minister Payne, said the initiative will bring together emerging defence and security leaders from ASEAN countries and Australia. One representative from each ASEAN member state will be invited to join the program each year and the cohort of successful students will all attend the same course. 

The Royal Australian Navy has begun its largest deployment of the year with more than a thousand sailors and officers bound for engagements across North and South East Asia.  Departing today from Sydney, the lead element of a nine ship Task Group will participate in bilateral and multi-national activities over the next four months. Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, said the deployment is focused on strengthening Australia’s regional defence engagement through practical cooperation activities with key partners.

Thank you, Michael Shoebridge, for that warm welcome. Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet – the Ngunnawal people – and pay my respects to their elders past and present. I also pay my respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have contributed to the defence of Australia in times of war and of peace.

Can I start by acknowledging the Gadigal people, the traditional owners of the land on which you are all meeting this morning. And let me also acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of the land from which I speak to you, right now.

**Check against delivery**   Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you all — and thank you Peter for that warm welcome. Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet — the Ngunnawal people — and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. I also pay my deep respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have contributed to the defence of Australia in times of war and peace.

The Australian Government will deploy a rapid assessment team to survey cyclone damage at the request of the Government of Vanuatu. The 12-person team and an initial assistance package will be transported to Vanuatu on a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft as soon as weather conditions allow.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, was joined today by the Federal Member for Bennelong, Mr John Alexander, in opening Defence's newest housing precinct for military personnel and their families. The new community, which has been created by Defence Housing Australia (DHA), is located on the Parramatta River at Ermington and will be home to more than 200 Defence members – most of whom have already moved in.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, together with the Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, today attended the graduation parade for Air Force recruits participating in the ADF Gap Year program. “It’s terrific to be here at RAAF Base Wagga today with the Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, and watch the young Air Force Gap Year participants achieve their first major milestone,” Mr Robert said.

The Hon Darren Chester MP Assistant Minister for Defence The Hon Stuart Robert MP Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Minister for Human Services Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC   The Australian Government will invest $1.46m in a research project to enhance treatment programs for current and former Australian military personnel with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a bid to improve their mental health and wellbeing and better support their families.

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert and Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison, AO, today launched the Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform (AMCU) at the Chief of Army’s Exercise in Brisbane. After 13 years of continuous operations and observations of Army uniforms in harsh environments, as well as from a continuous cycle of developing and testing equipment in the field; Defence has developed the next generation of Army uniforms for use domestically and overseas.

A range of innovative technologies that have been developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) are being showcased in Brisbane this week at Land Forces 2014. The event and the accompanying Future Land Force conference has attracted over 500 delegates from around the world to discuss how science and technology can transform the land force of the future.

The Australian Parliament has approved a $409 million project to upgrade Defence’s air traffic control facilities. Assistant Minister for Defence Michael McCormack today announced new and upgraded facilities will be constructed at 13 Defence bases and five off-base radar sites across Australia. “AIR 5431 Phases 2 and 3 Air Traffic Management and Control System Facilities and Australian Defence Force Air Traffic Control Complex Infrastructure Project is a joint program between Defence and Airservices Australia,” Mr McCormack said.

An Australian squad of 40 inspirational athletes is preparing for the 2016 Invictus Games which will be held in Orlando, Florida from 8 to 12 May Assistant Minister for Defence Michael McCormack said the Invictus Games was an international adaptive sports competition for serving and former serving wounded, injured and ill athletes which provided a vital opportunity to support their rehabilitation and recovery. The squad includes 20 Australian Defence Force (ADF) athletes and 20 veterans selected by the Returned and Service League (RSL).

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, on behalf of the Prime Minister, today attended the Australian Peacekeepers Commemorative Service at the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial site on Anzac Parade in Canberra. Mr Robert, a veteran peacekeeper who deployed to Bougainville in 1998 as a member of the Peace Monitoring Force following the civil war, said Australians have been undertaking peace operations for more than 68 years.

Representatives from Japan, the United States, New Zealand, Britain and Australia attended a commemorative service at Garden Island, Sydney today to mark the 72nd anniversary of the sinking of HMAS Kuttabul. Assistant Minister for Defence Stuart Robert joined attendees to honour the memory of the 19 Royal Australian Navy and two Royal Navy sailors who died when the converted ferry Kuttabul, then used for sailors’ accommodation, was struck by a torpedo fired from a Japanese midget submarine.

The Abbott Coalition Government has delivered its election promise to 57,000 military superannuants and their families. Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Senator the Hon Michael Ronaldson, and Assistant Minister for Defence, the Hon Stuart Robert MP, today welcomed the passage of the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Legislation Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2014 through the Senate, giving effect to the Government’s commitment to give veterans a fair go.

The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC (Retd), together with the Assistant Minister for Defence Stuart Robert, MP, and Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, AO, CSC, RAN, today attended the decommissioning of HMAS Tobruk to bid the ship a fond farewell in Sydney. “In a time-honoured tradition, the Australian White Ensign was lowered for the last time and handed to Commanding Officer, Commander Leif Maxfield,” Mr Robert said.

YOUNG Australians have been encouraged by Assistant Minister for Defence, Michael McCormack to consider a year in the Navy, Army or Air Force. Mr McCormack officially launched the 2017 ADF Gap Year Program at the Melbourne ADF Careers Expo, attended by students from more than 70 schools and universities across Victoria. “The Gap Year Program offers young Australians a great adventure from which they can benefit personally and professionally,” Mr McCormack said.

Today marks the return of the ADF Gap Year program, with hundreds of eager young Australians getting their first experience of life in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, today welcomed the first intake of young men and women into the 2015 ADF Gap Year program for the Army and Air Force. “This is a proud and special moment for these new recruits and represents a significant shift in their lives from high school to now serving their country through the ADF Gap Year program,” Mr Robert said.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, today launched the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Gap Year program for 2015. Addressing a crowd of secondary school children and teachers in Brisbane, Mr Robert said the program provides an opportunity for young Australians, who have finished year 12 or equivalent, to experience 12 months in the military without the obligation to make a longer commitment.

Assistant Minister for Defence Stuart Robert this week announced the highly successful ADF Gap Year program will return for 2016, with applications opening on 2 March 2015. Mr Robert, together with the Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, recently visited RAAF Base Wagga and the Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka where they watched current ADF Gap Year members undertake their initial training.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert MP joined Acting Chief of the Defence Force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin AO at HMAS Harman in Canberra today to launch a major Australian Defence Force (ADF) workforce reform – Suakin. Suakin intends to introduce a range of full-time, part-time and casual employment categories that will offer ADF members more options and more employment flexibility as their circumstances change.

The Government today confirmed the continued progress on the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Workplace Remuneration Arrangement (WRA).  The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert announced that an agreed Commonwealth position on remuneration will be taken to the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal (DFRT) on 15 October 2014.  “The Government has been actively pursuing the complex negotiations associated with the new Arrangement to ensure it is in place when the existing arrangements expire,” Mr Robert said.

The independent Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal (DFRT) today approved the 2014-2017 Workplace Remuneration Arrangement for Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, said the decision will see ADF members receive a 1.5 per cent pay increase each November for the next three years, starting this year. “The 2014 Workplace Remuneration Arrangement gives ADF members a fair and economically responsible pay rise,” Mr Robert said.

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, today announced conditions of service for ADF personnel serving in Iraq and other Middle East countries. These conditions of service are based on the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Deployment Allowance framework. Under this framework, the threat level of an operation is the sole metric used to determine the rate of the allowance. “Personnel currently deployed to Iraq on Operation OKRA will receive a tax-exempt allowance of $150 a day,” Mr Robert said. 

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert MP, and the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison AO, have addressed the 2013 Chief of Army, Wounded, Injured and Ill Digger Forum in Canberra today. Soldiers, their families and Army commanders, met with Army’s senior leadership and healthcare providers from the Department of Defence and Department of Veterans’ Affairs to discuss the care provided to soldiers with mental health injuries.

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, today announced the appointment of Imam Mohamadu Nawaz Saleem to the Religious Advisory Committee to the Services (RACS). The RACS was established in 1981 to provide a link between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the governing bodies of faith groups. It now consists of five members from the Christian faith, one Jewish member and one Muslim member.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert and Singapore’s Chief of Army, Major General Perry Lim, met today to discuss how future engagement can contribute to a stronger defence relationship. Mr Robert said the close and longstanding defence relationship between the Singapore and Australian Armies has been forged through cooperation in many areas. “Our discussions today focused on how we can use the important work that our armies are doing together to continue to strengthen our broader defence relationship,” he said.

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, today met with Singaporean Second Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing, to observe Singaporean unilateral training Exercise WALLABY and its bilateral component, Exercise TRIDENT, at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland. Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, and his Singaporean counterpart, Lieutenant General Ng Chee Meng, also took part in the visit.

The Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert MP, was today briefed on critical projects supporting defence and national security during his visit to the Canberra headquarters of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). Mr Robert has portfolio responsibility for DSTO and his visit served to familiarise him on critical areas in which DSTO operates, including national security, cyber security and international cooperation programs.