Navy Claims Longer Break For Families

The Age

Wednesday November 19, 2008

Leo Shanahan, Canberra

THE Royal Australian Navy is denying that the decision to recall about 1600 sailors from warships over summer is a result of a recruiting crisis, claiming it merely forms part of a new family-friendly policy.

Any ships not on active duty will return to port for an unprecedented two months over summer, with a skeleton staff operating to protect the fleet while docked in locations around Australia.

Deputy Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas said the decision to rest the fleet would not risk Australia's defence security despite only 500 naval staff remaining on active duty.

"Normally we have a break the month during Christmas when we have a stand-down," Rear Admiral Thomas said.

"We are extending that this year slightly from early December to the end of January. It will have no impact."

While accepting "there are a number of issues concerning retention and recruiting", Rear Admiral Thomas denied the ships' recall was a result of recruiting problems despite the navy lacking 2020 necessary full-time staff, losing 11% of its personnel each year from the service and only meeting about 75% of its recruiting targets.

The summer break for the majority of naval staff was aimed at making the navy more family friendly, he said.

"It's not an indication that our recruiting is in trouble. Having said that, we have got issues with recruiting. And this is aimed at a thing called 'New Generation Navy' where we are starting to take a closer look at more flexible work practices," Rear Admiral Thomas said.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon described the recall as a "thank you" to naval staff, accepting it was a means to encourage people to stay in their jobs. "These people have been facing ... an extended period of operational tempo and it's just a way of saying thank you and encouraging them to stay in the service rather than leave," he said.

The deputy chief also indicated that fear over the closure of ABC Learning centres influenced the decision to force personnel to take leave.

Opposition defence spokesman David Johnston fiercely criticised the plan, which he said would open Australia to illegal arrivals from Indonesian waters.

"The minister should not try to dress this up as some kind of new way of doing business because we do not want the rest of the world to think the Australian navy clocks on at 9am and goes home at 5pm," he said.

The move was an indictment of the Government's new recruitment policy, he said.

© 2008 The Age

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