SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR

Mr ZAPPIA: Dr Coyne, thank you for your presentation. I'm sorry I missed your opening remarks, because I was out, but I caught the tail end of them. They sort of linked in with the answer you gave just a moment ago as to how so many different people in Defence seem to go in different directions and have different views about what ought to be done and what shouldn't be done. You used a good example earlier, of the trucking. My question to you is this: why is it that there is not, in my view, one strategic, coordinated view about what our priorities should be and how whatever money is allocated is best spent? Dr Coyne : I think there is a coordinated view, if we look to Defence Strategic Review, parts of which were accepted by government and parts of which weren't. I think the National Defence Strategy has a degree of clarity, but we're also talking about incredibly complex capabilities in a fast-moving environment with significant challenges. I think, from that perspective, it makes it very difficult to make a definitive—and if we're talking here about the first part of that question, 'Why isn't there more consensus amongst people?' well, for starters, it's because the lenses through which they look at these problems are all different. From my perspective—and I am unapologetic about it—I believe in the importance of strategic geography; I believe that national ecosystems and the ability of our nation to be resilient are just as important as having specific capabilities. In stark contrast, there are those who believe that this all hangs off the idea of being able to maintain the US relationship. For others, it's about nuclear submarines. For others, it's about long-range fires. I think, though, that, ultimately, difficult decisions need to be made, and the solution to all this—and, ironically, I do a great deal of work in the national security space across the globe, and I've never met an organisation that has ever said anything more than: 'We need more money.' CHAIR: Ms Jarrett, you have the call.